The Falling Empire

The End of an Era
and our childhood
by: Hannah S.

Mattel Toy Company was founded in 1945, the year the second great war ended; and the people responsible were Harold Matson, Elliot Handler, and Ruth Handler. Their company has been around and kicking for around 73 years! Their value proposition according to their website is, 

1. Its reputation and industry standing, with the Company established as a leading toy manufacturer both domestically and internationally, having a track record for manufacturing high-quality and safe products;

1. Its broad range of products, with the Company owning and selling an extensive portfolio of products targeted at boys and girls of all ages, including third party licensed products and unique, proprietary products;

1. The strength of its core brands, with the Company controlling a number of popular, market-leading toy brands, including Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Polly Pocket, Barbie, and Fisher Price;

1. Its commitment to innovation, with the Company dedicating a significant portion of its resources to researching and developing products new and innovative products for its customers; and

1. Its international reach, with the Company serving a large domestic audience, as well as significant numbers of customers internationally, including across Europe, Latin America, and Asia Pacific.

Mattel is famous for their innovation of the Barbie doll. When the blonde haired lady first came out she was ideal for teaching young girls how to fix hair and dress properly. Of course the doll has taken many forms throughout the years but the goal is still to impact young girls. They also sell toys for young children (Fisher Price) and board games. I am sad to say that their star has lost some of her shine. In this last year alone doll sales have gone down 6% in their own words, "Kids are losing interest in traditional toys." 

According to Claudia Assis, a reporter from Marketwatch.com, shares of Mattel Inc. MAT, -3.64% fell 7% late Thursday after the toy maker swung to a surprise loss in the fourth quarter and its North American and global sales took a dive. Mattel said it lost $281.3 million, or 82 cents a share, in the quarter, versus profit of $173.8 million, or 51 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, Mattel lost 72 cents a share in the quarter, versus adjusted earnings of 52 cents a share a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 16 cents a share on sales of $1.69 billion. "We are optimistic about stabilizing revenue in 2018 anchored by our key power brands, entertainment partnerships and exciting new launches," Chief Executive Margo Georgiadis said in a statement. Mattel pinned the sales decline in North America on tighter retailer inventory management, "certain underperforming brands," and the Toys "R" Us bankruptcy filing, the company said in the statement. Sales of its American Girl Brands, which offers products tied to the dolls directly to consumers, fell 21% in the year and 23% in the quarter.

Toys R Us made up a whopping 10% of Mattel's sales and even worse the company has been over throne by Hasborow toys. Hasborow got the Disney princess dolls and with them came a huge slap into second place toy retailer.
One example of Mattel's desperation to market their brand is their television show called "The Toy Box" Inventors brought their toys on the show to be judged by kids and whoever won got their toy made and produced by Mattel. What a great way to show consumers that the kid's opinions are number one priority?
(How do you think they could improve their brand?)
(Do you think traditional toys are dead?)
(What can their marketing team do to improve their sales?)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik2DsG6pUhw