Hasbro and ASICS Team Up for New GI Joe Shoes at Foot Locker

Friday morning, Hasbro and ASCIS announced a new partnership.  I admit, I wasn’t surprised that a deal was made to create shoes and apparel featuring a Hasbro brand; that’s nothing new.  It’s a way to get a Hasbro property out into the world past the toy room or aisle.  I was extremely surprised when I heard that the property in question is GI Joe.

Unfortunately, the Joe line has seen better days.  There’s been no new retail product in a long time, the convention had its last hurrah last year, and the club is starting to wind down operations.  It’s looking extremely bleak for Joe fans, and my heart goes out to them.  I felt much the same way after Generation 1 ended in the early 90’s, but I got lucky with Generation 2 and Beast Wars and every thing that followed.

I hope that this new line of shoes and clothing at Foot Locker is the start of the Joe Renaissance. Maybe this will be their Beast Wars to adapt and change to a new audience and get the Joe product shining again.  See the pics and the press release below.