Mattel Unleashes Bold Plan to Revitalize Brands Amid Sluggish Sales

Last week, a new Barbie film was released, and a still from the movie is shown above. The renowned toy company Mattel has expressed its intention to "maximize the potential of our iconic brands beyond the traditional toy market." This announcement comes after Mattel reported a 12% decrease in sales for the quarter. Source: Mattel

The company's total net sales for the quarter were $1.1bn (£849m), down from $1.2bn (£926m) in the same period last year. This company owns popular toy and game brands such as Hot Wheels, Monster High, Uno, and Barbie.

Although the recently released Barbie movie generated a lot of buzz, the brand's gross sales also declined by 7% compared to the previous year. The company explained that this decrease in sales was partially due to the repositioning of promotional activities to coincide with the movie's theatrical release.

Mattel stated that its sales decreased due to retailers reducing their inventories and industry-wide trends. CEO Ynon Kreiz informed investors during a call on July 26th that the toy industry experienced a larger decline in the second quarter than anticipated.

Kreiz praised the release of the Barbie movie as "remarkably successful." Although this triumph has not yet been reflected in the company's recent quarterly results, the CEO provided positive insights regarding the brand's commercial performance. He stated, "Due to the triumph of the Barbie movie and our strong marketing strategies for the latter half of the year, we have observed favorable trends in Barbie's point of sale figures in July, indicating improvement."

Mattel's confidence in the Barbie film is not only expected to enhance the brand's reputation but also empower the company to effectively leverage its intellectual property beyond the realm of toys. "The success of the Barbie movie has proven our proficiency in generating consumer demand beyond traditional toy offerings," Kreiz expressed.

The Barbie movie music album has been released, showcasing popular artists such as Lizzo, Dua Lipa, and Nicki Minaj. Additionally, the company has introduced 165 consumer product partnerships to complement the movie's release. As a result, Barbie has achieved a significant increase in cultural significance. Kreiz stated that the brand is now drawing inspiration from this success and aiming to apply it to its other brands.

He said that this comprehensive consumer product partnership program can be seen as a template for future endeavors. Mattel plans to apply this template to their approach with other films. They currently have a number of brands, such as Polly Pocket, Barney, and Hot Wheels, with films at different stages of development in the works.

Kreiz assured investors that the company will employ a consistent approach in working with top talent to inspire, amplify, trust, and promote their abilities, while utilizing their marketing expertise and demand-driven creative capabilities to create significant, memorable cultural moments.

In a recent interview with Our Website, Lisa McKnight, the global head of Barbie and dolls portfolio at Mattel, expressed the company's long-standing ambition to establish Barbie as a reputable figure in the film industry.

“We made it clear from the beginning that our intention was not to create a live action film solely for the purpose of promoting toys,” she stated.

In the investor call, Kreiz commended the company's exceptional marketing team for their diligent work on the Barbie movie. He additionally disclosed the promotion of McKnight to the positions of Mattel's chief brand officer and executive vice president.