(HE)
NOW -- TOYING WITH
CHANGE.
PAWTUCKET-BASED
HASBRO IS LOOKING FOR
A NEW HEADQUARTERS.
(MM)
AND ONLY EYEWITNESS
NEWS REPORTER TED
NESI SAT DOWN WITH THE
COMPANY'S LEADER...
TO ASK THE QUESTION
EVERYONE WANTS
ANSWERED.
Nesi: "Do you expect Hasbro will
stay in Rhode Island?"
Goldner: "You know, I'd really
like
to."
BUT C-E-O BRIAN
GOLDNER TELLS US...
REMAINING IN THE STATE
IS NOT A SURE THING FOR
HIS COMPANY.
(HE)
TED NESI JOINS US NOW,
WITH THE EXCLUSIVE
INTERVIEW.
WITH ROUGHLY 1600 RHODE
ISLAND EMPLOYEES, HASBRO
IS ONE OF THE STATE'S BEST-
KNOWN CORPORATIONS.
AND THAT'S WHY ITS SEARCH
FOR A NEW HEADQUARTERS IS
A TOP CONCERN FOR LOCAL
LEADERS.
EVER SINCE ITS FOUNDING IN
1926 ... HASBRO HAS BEEN
BASED IN RHODE ISLAND...
GIVING THE WORLD ICONIC
BRANDS LIKE MISTER POTATO
HEAD,
AND PLAY-DOH.
OVER THE DECADES THE
COMPANY HAS GROWN TO
OVER 5 BILLION DOLLARS A
YEAR IN SALES, AND MORE
THAN 5,000 EMPLOYEES
WORLDWIDE.
BUT ITS C-E-O, BRIAN GOLDNER,
STILL WORKS OUT OF THIS
OFFICE ON NEWPORT AVENUE
IN PAWTUCKET.
THAT'S WHERE I SAT DOWN
WITH HIM TO GET AN UPDATE
ON THE COMPANY'S SEARCH
FOR A NEW HEADQUARTERS.
(2342) Nesi: "Where does that
process stand right now?"
Goldner: "You know, we're
spending
a lot of time really looking at
what's
the best way to go forward for
our
workforce and to create the most
creative environment and the
opportunity, potentially, to
bring
more of our employees together."
THAT HAS PAWTUCKET MAYOR
DON GREBIEN WORRIED
HASBRO COULD PACK UP AND
LEAVE HIS CITY BEHIND.
GOLDNER SAYS STAYING IN
PAWTUCKET IS AN OPTION ...
BUT NOT THE ONLY ONE.
(2423) "Obviously a renovation
is
one way to look at it, building
a new
building is another way; looking
at
available buildings. And we're
just in
the midway through that process.
Obviously we spend time with our
board of directors because
whatever
we do, it's a big investment."
(2435)
WHILE GOLDNER DID NOT
REVEAL SPECIFICS, IT'S WIDELY
KNOWN HASBRO IS SERIOUSLY
CONSIDERING A POTENTIAL
MOVE TO PROVIDENCE.
BUT RELOCATING OUT OF STATE
IS STILL ON THE TABLE, TOO.
(2510) "We all in our hearts
love
Rhode Island, but we also have a
group of shareholders who invest
in
this company from all over the
world, and they want us to make
the
best possible decision"
(BUTT TO)
(2535) Nesi: "Is there any kind
of
rough timeline, Brian, in your
mind -
have you and the board set a
schedule out for when you need
to
come to a decision on whether to
move, whether to renovate,
whatever you do?"
(2545) Goldner: "You know, we've
been at this a while,
internally.
We've been working on this for a
couple of years. (2548)
(BUTT TO)
(2603) "So I would say we're
probably still another three to
six
months away from a real plan."
GOLDNER SAYS HE IS IN
CONTINUED DISCUSSIONS
ABOUT HASBRO'S FUTURE WITH
GOVERNOR GINA RAIMONDO,
WHO SAYS HER PRIORITY IS
KEEPING THE COMPANY IN
RHODE ISLAND.
ON TUESDAY, SHE MET
PRIVATELY WITH GENERAL
ASSEMBLY LEADERS TO
REVIEW THEIR OPTIONS.
COMING UP AT SIX -- GOLDNER
EXPLAINS WHAT HASBRO IS
LOOKING FOR IN ITS FUTURE
HOME.
TED NESI,
EYEWITNESS NEWS.
(MM)
NOW -- TOYING WITH
CHANGE.
AS WE FIRST REPORTED
LIVE AT FIVE---
PAWTUCKET-BASED
HASBRO IS NEARING A
DECISION...
ON WHETHER TO REMAIN
IN RHODE ISLAND -- OR
MOVE OUT OF STATE.
(HE)
NEW AT SIX WE FIND
OUT WHAT THE COMPANY
IS LOOKING FOR IN A NEW
HEADQUARTERS.
EYEWITNESS NEWS
REPORTER TED NESI
SPOKE ONE-ON-ONE WITH
HASBRO C-E-O BRIAN
GOLDNER.
(MM)
TED JOINS US NOW WITH
MORE OF HIS
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW.
GOLDNER TELLS ME HASBRO
EXPECTS TO ANNOUNCE A
SELECTION SOMETIME IN THE
NEXT THREE TO SIX MONTHS,
AND THE CHOICE HAS TO
MATCH ITS GOALS AS A GLOBAL
COMPANY.
AFTER 92 YEARS IN RHODE
ISLAND ...
WILL HASBRO STAY, OR GO?
Brian Goldner
Chairman/CEO, Hasbro
(2528) "Obviously, our desire
would
be to be in Rhode Island but we
have to look broader than that
in
order to make sure that whatever
decision we make is a really
good
one for the company and our
employees." (2536)
BRIAN GOLDNER HAS BEEN
HASBRO'S C-E-O FOR THE PAST
DECADE...
A TIME OF RAPID CHANGE FOR
THE COMPANY AS IT EXPANDED
BEYOND TRADITIONAL TOYS
AND GAMES,
INTO MULTIMEDIA
ENTERTAINMENT, LIKE THE
UPCOMING BUMBLEBEE MOVIE.
Brian Goldner
Chairman/CEO, Hasbro
(2706) "Fifty percent of our
workforce is new to the company
over the last five to six years.
So
we're recruiting all kinds of
new
talent in this digital age -
people who
are telling stories online,
people who
are digital marketers, people
who
are data analysts and
scientists."
GOLDNER SAYS HASBRO
NEEDS A HEADQUARTERS THAT
WILL HELP ATTRACT THOSE
(2450) "We've
WORKERS.
(2450) "We've been working on
this
for a couple of years, and in
fact
we've taken different teams
through
our thought process and what we
would need to be a modern play
and
entertainment company, which is
our mantra, and we have to
deliver
that in the facility we all live
and
work in." (2603)
HE WOULD ALSO LIKE TO BRING
HASBRO'S 1600 RHODE ISLAND
EMPLOYEES UNDER THE SAME
ROOF.
(2357) "Right now we have a
number of facilities including
the
building we're in today, the one
right
across the street at 1027
Newport
as well as down in East
Providence,
and so you know that for us is a
big
discussion." (2412)
RENOVATING HASBRO'S
CURRENT OFFICES IN
PAWTUCKET IS ONE OPTION.
ANOTHER POSSIBILITY IS A NEW
BUILDING, POTENTIALLY IN
PROVIDENCE.
SO IS A MOVE TO A NEW STATE.
(2731) "We don't really come at
this
from a, what's the location? We
come at it, what's best for the
company?" (2736)
PAWTUCKET'S MAYOR IS
PUSHING TO KEEP HASBRO IN
HIS CITY...
BUT STATE LEADERS SAY
THEIR TOP PRIORITY IS JUST
KEEPING THE COMPANY IN
RHODE ISLAND.
AND COMING UP NEW TONIGHT
AT 10 AND 11 ..
GOLDNER SHARES HOW
HASBRO IS GETTING THROUGH
THE FIRST HOLIDAY SHOPPING
SEASON -- WITHOUT TOYS R US.