I don't know whether, in any particular instance, the company pursued the license or Lucasfilm peddled the license ... but it's the retailers who took a bath on all that leftover crap. Lucasfilm laughed all the way to the bank with its licensing fees on products for the most disappointing movie ever made.
It was a testament to general Star Wars interest that Episode One made a fortune at the box office ... but while everyone in the world felt they had to see the movie, the reaction to the film did not translate into the trinket sales that a well-liked movie would have.
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