Furthermore, the illustration on the appendix 1 demonstrates that Mattel Inc., was in the leading position in market share among the members in the European Union in 2011. Followed by Lego which owns a total market share on 8.32 %, which is approximately 1.76 % lesser then Mattel Inc. Additionally, it was only a very short brief for Mattel Inc., to be in this position, as a recent article from September 2014 highlights Legos which has left their competitor, Mattel Inc. behind. With this in mind the success relies mainly on two reasons. Firstly, Lego achieved this position while inventing and launching “The Lego Movie” in February 2014, which became a huge hit. Secondly, in the same year Mattel Inc. experienced a weak sale on their Iconic…
Mattel is the world’s #1 toy maker with more than 30,000 employees and more than $4 billion in sales. A well-established core product portfolio has set Mattel’s established position in the toy market much higher than their competitors. Its products include Barbie, Fisher-Price toys, Hot Wheels and Matchbox Cars, American Girl dolls books, and licensed Disney and Sesame Street products are just a few that have helped them reach such great profits throughout the world. Although Mattel leads the industry, it recognizes the complexity of staying on top in a highly competitive and shifting business. While keeping their sales outlets current, toy companies must constantly seek to achieve the next big hit. In addition the rising pressure of big-box retailers, the Internet, and catalog sales have affected the direction of the industry in more ways than one.…
The main issue in this situation is that the toys imported from China with the Mattel brand name of them contain higher amounts of lead than acceptable. With the sale of Mattel products at Wal-Mart, Target and Toys R’ Us accounting for approximately 43% of the total revenue in 2007, when these retailers removed all Mattel products manufactured in China from their shelves, Mattel took a hit of mass proportion (Teagarden, N.d.).…
Mattel sued the band, saying they violated the Barbie trademark and turned Barbie into a sex object, referring to her as a "Blonde Bimbo."[1] They alleged the song had violated their copyrights and trademarks of Barbie, and that its lyrics had tarnished the reputation of their trademark and impinged on their marketing plan. Mattel also claimed that the cover packaging of the single used "Barbie pink", a trademarked color owned by Mattel.[2] Aqua claimed that Mattel injected their own meanings into the song's lyrics and MCA Records was not about to let their hit single be suppressed without a fight. They contested Mattel's claims and countersued for defamation after Mattel had likened MCA to a bank robber.[3]…
More than 10,000 employees in 30 different countries and among world’s largest toy manufactures Only European company to occupy a place in world’s top ten toy manufacturers Produces its products in Denmark, US, Switzerland and Korea and retailed through 60,000 outlets in more than 130 countries…
The battle of good versus evil in the galaxy wages on and now you can be part of the action with this great LEGO Star Wars brickset. LEGO building Set #4482 from the LEGO group lets you support the Republic on the battlefields of Geonosis. The fighting on the planet was fierce and it took precise planning to achieve victory and fight back against the empires rising tide of control. The AT-TE made that victory possible, and it can again when you fight your own battles against the evil empire. Star Wars and LEGO fans alike will love the detail of this large build AT-TE vehicle. Once completed it will look great on an display shelf beside other LEGO Star Wars sets, and is a lot of fun to play with as you fight your own battles against the Dark Side and the Trade Federations Battle Droid army.…
• favorable conditions toy industry • approximately 800 toy companies in the United States • diversification for reducing sales and profit volatility - only for the biggest companies…
Mattel Inc., headquartered in El Segundo, California was the global leader in design, manufacture and marketing of toys and family products. Mattel toy lines included such best selling brands as Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, American Girl, Radica and Tyco as well as Fisher-Price brands including Little People, Power Wheels and a wide range of entertainment-inspired toys. In 2007, Mattel manufactured about 65 percent of its toys in China. Initially they used outside contractors but out of concern over protection of intellectual property at risk, Mattel operated its own factories in China. Mattel contracted production to between 30 and 50 Chinese firms many of which had relationships with other subcontractors.…
Current data and trends suggest high growth potential in the preschool toy market. Given Hasbro’s presently low…
Revenues in the U.S. toy and game industry totaled $42 billion in 2008 and were projected to increase by 4.6% per year to $52.5 billion by 2013. The market was divided into two broad segments: video games (48%) and traditional toys and games (52%). The second segment was further divided into infant/preschool toys (14.5%), dolls (14.1%), outdoor & sports toys (12.3%), and other toys & games (59.1%) including arts and crafts, plush toys, action figures, vehicles, and youth electronics. The U.S. market for toys and games was dominated by large global enterprises that enjoyed economies of scale in design, production, and distribution. Revenues were highly seasonal; the largest selling season in the United States coincided with the winter holiday period.…
It is hard not to think of Mattel when one thinks of toy manufacturers. After all, in 1959 when Mattel introduced their product the Barbie doll they became the forefront of the toy industry and have not backed down from that position since. Before they became the toy industry giant they are today Mattel simply started in a garage workshop in Southern California by entrepreneurs Ruth Handler, Elliot Handler, and Harold Matson. Harold Matson soon sold his share of the company and the Handlers took full control (Patten, 2008). Despite the fact that their success was gained by the manufacturing and distribution of toys, Mattel started out producing picture frames. It was when Elliot Handler started making dollhouse furniture from the scraps left over from the production of the picture frames that the company started in the direction that would land them on the Fortune 500 list (Bellis, 2012). When Mattel realized that their dollhouse furniture was outselling their original picture frames they decided to make the switch to becoming a toy manufacturing company fulltime. Their first big-seller was a toy ukulele called the "Uke-a-doodle." Following the success of the Uke-a-doodle Mattel became incorporated and moved their headquarters to Hawthorne, California (Corporate Mattel, n.d.).…
Innovating a turnaround at LEGO by D. Robertson and P. Hjuler, Harvard Business Review, Sep. 2009…
In 2007, the Mattel toy company recalled around 20 million of its toy products do to contamination of lead in the paint and safety issues dealing with parts of its products (magnets) that was manufactured in China. The Mattel Company is considered the “global leader’ in toy manufacturing with over 30,000 people employed in over 40 countries and operates in more than 150 countries. The Mattel Company faces the dilemma a lot of companies face when using overseas manufacturing. If not closely monitored, they can and will cut corners which could put the company at risk. Who is responsible for the safety of children’s toy and who should be held accountable? An Analysis of the Mattel case study should reveal who is and who isn’t.…
By the end of 2003 Lego was already facing crisis owing to dipping profits and declining market pool for toys. Lego had planned to expand into markets beyond building toys and needed huge investment to be made in it. But it found difficult to compete when fad players and other toy manufacturers were giving them stiff competition in a market that already was supposed to be giving lesser returns every year. This was mostly due to factors out of the control of Lego and other toy companies because, firstly, a research suggested that the demand of children who were primary customers of these companies were changing rapidly to fashionable and electronic products. They had lesser attention span and looked for instant gratification, and were lesser inclined to play with toys involving physical activity. Also Lego found it difficult to be competitive when its manufacturing base was in European markets while toy companies were moving to Far East and Middle East where labor was comparatively cheaper.…
On Sept 12, 2007, members of Congress, their staff, reporters, and the general public were all gathered in a U.S. Senate hearing room to discuss the issue of toy safety, how to make it better and improve it (Anne T Lawrence, 2008). What brought about the hearing was the Mattel Company, who is known as one of the “world’s premier toy companies” and was the Global leader in the design, manufacture, and marketing of toys along with other family products had ordered a series of recalls of toys and other children’s playthings. Mattel manufactures over 800 million toys annually. They began their business in Southern California in a garage workshop manufacturing picture frames and eventually the company started selling dollhouse furniture made from their picture frame scraps and when they realized the market potential they switched their business over to manufacturing toys. In 1959 Mattel created their most famous and popular toy, the Barbie Doll. The toy was considered a doll with which little girls could play out their dreams. Throughout the history of the company Mattel has continued to create and market popular toys such as Hot Wheels and Match Box. They have also merged with successful manufacturers (Fisher Price and Tyco), they also became partners with children’s program companies (Disney, Sesame Street, and Nickelodeon), obtained rights to manufacture popular product lines (Cabbage Patch, American Girl Dolls, Fisher Price and Harry Potter merchandise) and expanded their business by acquiring other companies like (The Pleasant Company).…