Barbie Movie's Success Inspires Mattel To Bring Back More "Marketable" Toys

By Thea Felicity

Mar 07, 2024 12:09 PM EST

EL SEGUNDO, CA - FEBRUARY 02: Mattel Inc. offices are seen February 2, 2009 in the Los Angeles area community of El Segundo, California. Fourth-quarter profits for the toy maker giant fell far below expectations following a disappointing holiday season as net profit fell from $328.5 million, or 89 cents a share, a year earlier to $176.4 million, or 49 cents a share.
(Photo : Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)

In a bid to revamp its brand portfolio, Mattel is turning to the Barbie movie as a guiding light to fix up its American Girl and Fisher-Price brands. 

Under Mattel's CEO Ynon Kreiz's leadership since 2018, Mattel has built a remarkable turnaround, with a notable 44% increase in share price. This revival has been fueled by a strategic approach dubbed the "Mattel playbook," or making old toys interesting for new customers.

Now, the success of the Barbie movie, directed by Greta Gerwig and nominated for several Oscars, reflects Mattel's new strategy to be implemented. After all, the movie did well financially and culturally and boosted sales of related products like "I am Kenough" sweatshirts. 

Ahead of their presentation, Kreiz told CNBC, "Our job is to take these timeless brands and make them timely."

While Ynon Kreiz understands that future projects might not be as successful as the Barbie movie, which made over $1.5 billion, he believes it's still a must for Mattel to be able to replicate such success across all its brands. 

This is especially important for American Girl and Fisher-Price, as their sales have dropped because people's toys preferences have changed.

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American Girl is now focusing on simplifying store operations, improving online shopping options, and updating its products to appeal to current customers. Moreover, collaborations with Disney princesses and Paramount are currently intended to make the brand more widely recognized and meaningful.

"We think there's some real opportunities to continue to grow the brand and extend the story that exists within American Girl thoughtfully, and we want to do it authentically," said Mattel Chief Franchise Officer, Josh Silverman.

Mattel is also looking for new ways to innovate and expand Fisher-Price despite discontinuing some product lines, like Power Wheels and baby gear. They're introducing environmentally friendly wooden toys and forming partnerships to make Fisher-Price more attractive to millennial parents.

Currently, Barbie is up for several Oscar nominations. Whether taking home a win or not, you can learn a lot from Barbie's success to reignite classic brands and bring them into the modern era.

"Whether we're talking about products, entertainment, television, music, publishing, digital gaming, all of it we're creating an ecosystem of true franchise flywheel."

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