"There will be toys under the Christmas tree this year," says Alan Hassenfeld, as confidently as if he were Santa Claus himself. After a lifetime in the toy business, the chairman of the executive committee of the board of Hasbro (short for Hassenfeld Brothers) has learnt not to worry too much about the impact of an economic downturn on his business. "The papers say everyone will get coal as presents this year," he says, "but most parents-and grandparents-in difficult times will spend less on themselves to ensure their children are happy, especially in the holiday season. That is the important leg-up toys have on almost all other retail items, except food."rnThe numbers seem to bear him out, which may explain why Hasbro's share price, though well below the all-time high it reached in August, is still up in a miserable year for the stock-market. In America sales of toys grew by 10% a year during the recession of 1990-91 and by more than 3% in that of 2001. This year the growing popularity of "staycations", in which people stay at home but behave as if they were away, is helping sales, especially of family-friendly board games (Hasbro owns Monopoly and Cluedo, among others). So too has the recent fall in fuel prices, which means that money that would have gone into the tank can be spent on gifts. Around 80% of Hasbro's products are priced below $20, so the fuel/toy trade-off is a real one.
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