Mattel

Mattel is an American toy and scale model company that produces the Barbie doll , Monster High , Ever After High . The headquarters is in El Segundo , California .

The company was founded in 1945. In the early 1980s, the company produced game consoles .

Chairman of the Board of Directors - Christopher Sinclair . The founders of the company are Ruth Handler , Elliot Handler and Matson Harold.

Mattel makes Barbie dolls , Monster High , Ever After High , Fisher-Price toddler toys , Hot Wheels and Matchbox branded toy cars, American Girl branded toys and books, and (under license) Sesame Street , Barney , Ferrari branded children's products.

The number of personnel is 26 thousand people (2005). The company's sales in 2008 amounted to $5.92 billion, net profit - $379.6 million. Barbie dolls provide a third of the corporation's sales.

In June 2019, Barbies with prosthetics and in a wheelchair went on sale. To create them, the brand teamed up with doctors and engineers from the Los Angeles hospital UCLA Mattel, specializing in the production of mechanisms for people with disabilities.

In 1980, the company had to defend itself against accusations that the facial features of black dolls were too European. Mattel's attempt to collaborate with Nabisco , the maker of Oreo cookies , also turned out to be too "racist" . Many drew attention to the Oreo advertising slogan: "Black outside, white inside", which outraged the African American community, and the release of the doll had to be discontinued.

Mattel has been regularly criticized for gender-sensitive and sexist toys that reinforce stereotypes about women being narrow-minded. For example, when the dolls first learned to speak words in 1992, the first phrases were: "Math is hard" and "Let's go shopping".

In 2011, Mattel was criticized by the environmental organization Greenpeace for using cardboard made in Indonesia.

Mattel has been repeatedly criticized for the unnatural proportions of the female body and the emphasis on extreme thinness. In 2009, a "jubilee" Barbie was released in honor of the company's 50th anniversary, and it turned out to be even more dystrophic than traditional dolls.

Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The products and brands it currently produces include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, UNO, Mega, Thomas & Friends, Polly Pocket, Masters of the Universe, Monster High and Enchantimals, with Ever After High and My Scene also having been previously produced. In the early 1980s, Mattel produced video game systems, under its own brands and under license from Nintendo. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 countries.The company operates through three business segments: North America, international, and American Girl. It is the world's second largest toy maker in terms of revenue, after The Lego Group. Barbie was named the top global toy property for 2020 and 2021 per The NPD Group, a global information research company. Hot Wheels was named the top-selling global toy of the year, also for 2020 and 2021, also per NPD's judgment. Richard L. Dickson has been the company's president since 2010, having previously held executive positions at the company in the decade since he came aboard. Ynon Kreiz has been the company's chairman and CEO since April 26, 2018, replacing former Google executive Margo Georgiadis, who was previously announced as CEO on January 17, 2017. She stepped down a year later on April 19 to take charge of Ancestry.com.

The name Mattel is a blend of the names of the "Matt", nickname of Harold Matson, and El in Elliot Handler, two of the company's founders.

History

Harold "Matt" Matson, Ruth Handler, and Elliot Handler founded Mattel as Mattel Creations in January 1945 in a garage. The company began selling picture frames, and later, dollhouse furniture out of sediments from those frames. Matson sold his share and stake to the Handlers due to poor health the following year, when Handler's wife, Ruth took over. In 1947, the company had its first hit toy, a ukulele called "Uke-A-Doodle".

The company was incorporated in 1948 in Hawthorne, California. In 1950, the Magic 8-Ball was invented by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman; the toy is now owned by Mattel. Mattel started advertising on TV when it became the first sponsor of the Mickey Mouse Club TV series. 1957 saw the release of the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, and the Xylophone. Mattel ultimately acquired Fisher-Price on August 20, 1993. The Barbie doll debuted on March 9, 1959, going on to become the company's best-selling toy in history. In 1960, Mattel introduced Chatty Cathy, a talking doll that was voiced by June Foray and revolutionized the toy industry, leading to pull-string talking dolls and toys flooding the market throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1961, Mattel introduced the Ken doll. The company went public in 1960, and became listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1963. Mattel also acquired a number of like-minded companies during the 1960s (see table below).

The original Barbie Dreamhouse appeared in 1962, and was made with cardboard and paper. In 1965, the company built on its success with the Chatty Cathy doll to introduce the See 'n Say talking toy, spawning a line of products. That year also saw the release of Astronaut Barbie, the first of many space-themed Barbies. Barbie traveled to the moon four years before Neil Armstrong. In 1967, Mattel released Major Matt Mason, another toy astronaut.

On May 18, 1968, Hot Wheels was released to the market. Hot Wheels was invented by a team of Mattel inventors, which included a rocket scientist and a car designer. That year also saw another doll release, this time, Christie, Barbie's friend and the first Black doll, which in the following years and decades would spawn an endless line of Barbie-themed and branded family and friends. In 1969, Mattel changed the Mattel Creations and the "Mattel, Inc. – Toymakers" marketing brands to just Mattel and launched the iconic "red sun" logo with the Mattel wordmark in all capitals for better identity. In 1970, Hot Wheels forged a sponsorship agreement with drag racing drivers Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen. In addition to other marketing measures, the two racers’ cars, a yellow Barracuda and a red Duster, were reproduced as Hot Wheels toys.

In May 1970, Mattel formed a joint venture film production company "Radnitz/Mattel Productions" with producer Robert B. Radnitz, which would kickstart Mattel's venture into full-time entertainment to accompany its most famous toy TV commercials.

The card game Uno (now stylized as UNO) was invented by Merle Robbins in 1970,[35] and was acquired by Mattel in 1996.

In 1971, Mattel purchased The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from the Feld family for $40 million, whom Mattel kept as management. Mattel sold the circus corporation by December 1973, despite its profit contributions, as Mattel showed a $29.9 million loss in 1972.

In 1974, an investigation found Mattel guilty of issuing false and misleading financial reports, which led to the banishing of Elliot and Ruth Handler from the company they had founded.

Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The products and brands it currently produces include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, American Girl, UNO, Mega, Thomas & Friends, Polly Pocket, Masters of the Universe, Monster High and Enchantimals, with Ever After High and My Scene also having been previously produced. In the early 1980s, Mattel produced video game systems, under its own brands and under license from Nintendo. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more than 150 countries.The company operates through three business segments: North America, international, and American Girl. It is the world's second largest toy maker in terms of revenue, after The Lego Group. Barbie was named the top global toy property for 2020 and 2021 per The NPD Group, a global information research company. Hot Wheels was named the top-selling global toy of the year, also for 2020 and 2021, also per NPD's judgment. Richard L. Dickson has been the company's president since 2010, having previously held executive positions at the company in the decade since he came aboard. Ynon Kreiz has been the company's chairman and CEO since April 26, 2018, replacing former Google executive Margo Georgiadis, who was previously announced as CEO on January 17, 2017. She stepped down a year later on April 19 to take charge of Ancestry.com.

The name Mattel is a blend of the names of the "Matt", nickname of Harold Matson, and El in Elliot Handler, two of the company's founders.

History

Harold "Matt" Matson, Ruth Handler, and Elliot Handler founded Mattel as Mattel Creations in January 1945 in a garage. The company began selling picture frames, and later, dollhouse furniture out of sediments from those frames. Matson sold his share and stake to the Handlers due to poor health the following year, when Handler's wife, Ruth took over. In 1947, the company had its first hit toy, a ukulele called "Uke-A-Doodle".

The company was incorporated in 1948 in Hawthorne, California. In 1950, the Magic 8-Ball was invented by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman; the toy is now owned by Mattel. Mattel started advertising on TV when it became the first sponsor of the Mickey Mouse Club TV series. 1957 saw the release of the Fisher-Price Corn Popper, and the Xylophone. Mattel ultimately acquired Fisher-Price on August 20, 1993. The Barbie doll debuted on March 9, 1959, going on to become the company's best-selling toy in history. In 1960, Mattel introduced Chatty Cathy, a talking doll that was voiced by June Foray and revolutionized the toy industry, leading to pull-string talking dolls and toys flooding the market throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1961, Mattel introduced the Ken doll. The company went public in 1960, and became listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1963. Mattel also acquired a number of like-minded companies during the 1960s (see table below).

The original Barbie Dreamhouse appeared in 1962, and was made with cardboard and paper. In 1965, the company built on its success with the Chatty Cathy doll to introduce the See 'n Say talking toy, spawning a line of products. That year also saw the release of Astronaut Barbie, the first of many space-themed Barbies. Barbie traveled to the moon four years before Neil Armstrong. In 1967, Mattel released Major Matt Mason, another toy astronaut.

On May 18, 1968, Hot Wheels was released to the market. Hot Wheels was invented by a team of Mattel inventors, which included a rocket scientist and a car designer. That year also saw another doll release, this time, Christie, Barbie's friend and the first Black doll, which in the following years and decades would spawn an endless line of Barbie-themed and branded family and friends. In 1969, Mattel changed the Mattel Creations and the "Mattel, Inc. – Toymakers" marketing brands to just Mattel and launched the iconic "red sun" logo with the Mattel wordmark in all capitals for better identity. In 1970, Hot Wheels forged a sponsorship agreement with drag racing drivers Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen. In addition to other marketing measures, the two racers’ cars, a yellow Barracuda and a red Duster, were reproduced as Hot Wheels toys.

In May 1970, Mattel formed a joint venture film production company "Radnitz/Mattel Productions" with producer Robert B. Radnitz, which would kickstart Mattel's venture into full-time entertainment to accompany its most famous toy TV commercials.

The card game Uno (now stylized as UNO) was invented by Merle Robbins in 1970,[35] and was acquired by Mattel in 1996.

In 1971, Mattel purchased The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from the Feld family for $40 million, whom Mattel kept as management. Mattel sold the circus corporation by December 1973, despite its profit contributions, as Mattel showed a $29.9 million loss in 1972.

In 1974, an investigation found Mattel guilty of issuing false and misleading financial reports, which led to the banishing of Elliot and Ruth Handler from the company they had founded.