It may be early for most of us, but toymakers have Christmas squarely in their sights by now. For Hasbro, however, the season looks likely to bring little in the way of cheer. The second largest toymaker in the US has just reported weak third-quarter figures after issuing a profit warning at the end of last week.

Workers will feel the chill, with the company cutting back staff by about 5 per cent or 550 people in the run-up to Christmas, to offset the effect of disappointing sales, particularly of its Pokemon and Star Wars products.

In a market, which is increasingly reliant on hanging on the coat tails of the latest blockbuster, this is a major policy departure. Getting it right in the blockbuster merchandising department can give a company a huge boost but as Hasbro - and others including Dorling Kindersley before it - discovered, getting it wrong can be expensive.

Dominic Coyle can be contacted at dcoyle@irish-times.ie