A scene from “Barbie.”
Courtesy: Warner Bros.
if there is one thing Mattel That’s the power of Barbie, CEO Ynon Kreiz wants shareholders to take away on Thursday.
As toy makers face pressure from activists Barington Capital, specifically its strategy Along with Fisher-Price and the American Girl brand, the company used Barbie as a blueprint for the toy company’s future during an investor presentation Thursday.
“Our job is to take these timeless brands and make them timely,” Kreiz told CNBC before the presentation.
Since taking the helm at Mattel in 2018, Kretz has launched a turnaround plan for the company, reviving major brands such as Barbie and sending the stock up 44%. He touted Mattel’s “playbook,” the company’s strategy of making beloved franchises available to consumers in multiple market segments.
That plan has come to fruition with “Barbie,” the film of the same name directed by Greta Gerwig and nominated for eight Oscars this year.
“The idea is to find ways to create multiple touchpoints and build a strong toy brand,” Kreiz said. “Once you build your brand’s fan base and cultural resonance, you can expand them into other experiences, other products, other opportunities to connect with your fans.”
“The ‘Barbie’ movie really embodies how we view the opportunities in front of us,” he said.
Gerwig’s “Barbie” generated nearly $1.5 billion in global box office revenue by capitalizing on pop culture relevance—consumers’ reverence and revulsion for the toy brand for more than six decades. The film’s success resulted in an estimated $150 million in sales of related toys and consumer products, such as “I Am Kennoff” sweatshirts, as well as Mattel’s share of ticket sales.
“We now view people who buy our products not just as consumers, but as fans,” Kreiz said.
Starting in July, the film will tour to different music venues in 37 cities, accompanied by the all-female orchestra Sinfonietta. Next up is the Oscars this Sunday, where “Barbie” is nominated for acting awards, best original song, best costume design and best picture.
“Whether we’re talking about product, entertainment, television, music, publishing, digital games, all of these we’re creating a true franchise flywheel ecosystem,” Mattel chief franchise officer Josh Silverman said. Silverman said.
Follow in Barbie’s footsteps
While Kreitz acknowledged that future film and television projects may not reach the heights of the Margot-starring movie, he noted that “Barbie” provides a way to expand Mattel’s intellectual property beyond toys. template.
“It doesn’t matter whether our brand resonates outside the store,” he said. “Because they do. We’ve proven it. The question is whether we can do it because we’re doing it and executing it very successfully. It’s about doing it at scale.”
That’s especially important for the company’s Fisher-Price and American Girl brands, which have been in transition for years.
Changes in consumer buying habits and the disappearance of Toys R Us have caused sales of both brands to plummet in recent years. Just in the past year, Global net sales of “American Girl” drop 9%. For the company’s infant, toddler and preschool division, which includes Fisher-Price, sales fell 10%.
activist investor Barrington Capital writes to Kretz The company said in its February earnings report that it believed “these brands are now hurting the success of Mattel’s other divisions and damaging shareholder value.”
However, Kreiz said Mattel still believes there is value in continuing to invest in these brands and had already begun working to revitalize American Girl and Fisher-Price before the activist investor’s letter in February.
Even before the pandemic forced retail stores to close, American Girl was already seeing weak sales. With shelves lined with knock-off dolls that look like iconic American Girl dolls at a fraction of the price, the once-alluring experiential shopping associated with the brand’s flagship stores has disappeared.
Although American Girl dolls can be purchased online, e-commerce has not historically been a major strategy for Mattel. Much of its marketing is devoted to promoting the retail store and its café, the Doll Hair Salon, and its mailing catalog.
The American Girl brand has certainly emerged from the pandemic with fewer retail stores, an increased push for direct-to-consumer online shopping, and a renewed focus on modernizing dolls for a new generation. Sales even increased by 5% in 2021. However, they fell again in both 2022 and 2023.
When it comes to the American Girl brand, Kreiz admits that the challenge is “not product-driven,” but rather a matter of its business strategy.
He said the brand’s future will see growth in its flagship stores, more product innovation and expanded licensed entertainment, including collaborations with and film projects with Disney Princesses. Paramount.
Mattel American Girl Doll
Source: Mattel
“We think there are some real opportunities to continue to grow the brand and thoughtfully expand on the stories that exist in ‘American Girl,’ and we want to do that authentically,” Silverman said. “The franchise is very much a bridge between toys and entertainment.”
Mattel executives are tight-lipped about what to expect from the upcoming American Girl movie, which does not yet have a release date.
“We are now working closely with a writer to unravel the story,” Mattel chief brand officer Lisa McKnight said. “We believe it will be a great opportunity for the brand when the movie comes out.”
Where Fisher-Price Fits in
在一系列電影項目中，包括由J·J·艾布拉姆(JJ Abram) 主演的《壞機器人》(Bad Robot) 的風火輪電影、湯姆·漢克斯(Tom Hanks) 主演的馬特梅森少校(Major Matt Mason) 電影，以及莉莉柯林斯(Lily Collins) 主演、莉娜鄧納姆(Lena Dunham) 編劇和導演的《波莉口袋》 (Polly Pocket) 電影，美泰正在修改其中的幾部video. Its preschool recreational facilities.
Starting this fall, the company The animated series “Barney” will be relaunched and a product line will be launched in 2025. Marc Forster (Quantum of Solace, Finding Neverland) has also been tapped to direct and produce a film based on the Thomas & Friends series.
“We will evaluate, curate, incubate and relaunch assets in the preschool space with full franchise capabilities,” Silverman said.
The brands are part of Mattel’s multibillion-dollar infant, toddler and preschool division, which has spent the past few years cutting back on fat and emphasizing innovative ways to grow.
“This is a big business and it’s a complex business,” McKnight said. “So, what we’ve been doing over the past few months is really behind the scenes and recognizing that there are two fundamental aspects. The core of the business is targeting babies and toddlers, where parents are the real buyers. And then there’s preschool entertainment.” business. It’s really driven by kids’ needs and driven by content.”
Fisher-Price accounts for the majority of the entire segment, contributing approximately 70% to 80% of segment revenue annually. In 2023, Fisher-Price’s net sales were approximately $850 million, down 9% from the previous year.
Two areas that Mattel is aggressively exiting are weighing heavily on Fisher-Price: power wheels, battery-powered ride-on bikes and baby products. Kreitz said Mattel has no “unique advantage” in these products and faces stiff competition for market share. He also pointed out that most of the losses in infants, toddlers and preschools are caused by these exits.
At the same time, Mattel is committed to bringing more innovative products to this more than 90-year-old brand, and even customizing the colors and materials of children’s educational toys to be more “aesthetically attractive” to young parents.
“We started thinking about fabric choices and color palettes for these items…that would match well with home décor,” McKnight said, noting that millennial parents often want baby toys that better match their Interior decoration style.
Mattel also launched a new line in its Fisher-Price wooden toy portfolio, only available in Walmart Launching in North America this spring and globally in the second half of 2024.
“It’s a great-looking product that people will feel good about when they display it, and it’s made from sustainable materials, which is also really important to customers,” McKnight said.
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