The Success Of The Barbie Doll

Dolls before Barbie were designed incorporating the ideals of a mans era and the conformity of a women's role in the world. Barbie may have set the stage for the 1960's generation by exposing the youth to verity and free choice. Yet there is another matter in which Barbie may flawed.

The problem surrounding Mattel Inc. is their mismanagement of international subcontractors and vendors and the production of certain toys (the manufacturing process), as well as their inability to adapt their marketing strategy or product to the constantly changing “demographic and socioeconomic trends.” This is supported by Mattel’s legal battle with Carter Bryant and MGA, their forced recall of certain toys that were manufactured overseas, and the increasing rate at which traditional toys are becoming less appealing to today’s young audience. Essentially, Mattel’s mismanagement and oversight lead to violations in terms of ethical and social responsibilities and safety standards.

Toys R Us is the world's largest children's specialty retailer. The company operates toy stores throughout the world and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange. In this paper I will give a brief company history, cite where the competitive environment is coming from, strategies that were attempted, and where they stand today.

Mattel is a global toy company that has been around since 1949. They are the company that introduced Barbie and Hot Wheels to the world as well as many others toys. Mattel has license agreements with Walt Disney and Nickelodeon. In

Team 2 has researched and completed a comparative analysis of Mattel’s supply chain design and related costs with that of its major competitor Hasbro and the toy industry. What follows, is a brief background of Mattel’s traditional (non-electronic game) sector, its key competitors and Mattel’s use of supply chain management concepts in addressing the competitive landscape to gain a competitive advantage. The global toy and game market grew by 7.2% in 2007 with a value of $106.1 billion and by 2012, is forecasted to have a value of $126.2 billion, an increase of 18.9% over 2007. The toy market is divided into three primary sectors, namely game consoles, game software and traditional toys and games. Traditional toys and

1. The decision facing Mattel is whether to continue to produce their products internationally where cost are low, or produce them in the United States where costs are significantly higher but quality is better. Mattel might want to even reconsider going global if there sales are decreasing more internationally than in the United States. Mattel needs to determine how many of the products produced internationally were recalled versus the amount of products produced in the United States that were recalled. Mattel also needs to decide how they are going to advertise their products in a way that will convince consumers in the external environment to buy their products, without having any

a. Girls, this is a question for you. How many of you have had Barbie dolls growing up? (Have time to answer)

Barbie, at the age of 41, is one of the longest living toys in America. Analyzing her early history can give a person a look into the societal trends and culture of the late 1950's and early 1960's. There is evidence of fashion innovations in Barbie's wardrobe. Also, one can see the perception of females by society, such as what they should look like, how they should act and dress, as well as what their future goals could be. The following essay follows Barbie's history from 1959 to 1963, covering her development, her appeal to children, and her existence as a cultural artifact of the time period.

Through studying the entire retail toy industry, we have been able to understand the complexity of the industry in which Toys "R" Us operates. Upon completion of the analysis, we realized that the industry is growing stably,

LEGO,  like  most  companies  in  the  toy  industry  are  fighting  to  stay  profitable  in  this

The competitive rivalry in the toy industry is intense. Organizations try to sell through their own retailers and online instead of solely through other retailers. Flexibility and responsiveness to the market are

In the past, the toy business was just an annex of the publishing industry. Little effort was invested in toys which were not even mentioned strategic plans. Now the toy industry is the second-highest profit maker in Marvel, generating over $20 billion in sales in 2003. The toy business is very promising in the future. However its percentage in revenue will still remain stable or slightly decrease, just as publishing will do, because licensing has such a strong possibility for growth. In addition, while the toy industry competition is too fierce to permit further achievements.

Hasbro conducts business within the Toy, Game and Doll Manufacturing industry. They have strong, brand portfolio that they utilize in a wide variety of entertainment mediums. Hasbro categorizes their brands into four categories which they call their brand architecture: franchise, partner, gaming mega, and challenger brands. Their franchise brands are owned by them and they currently make most of their revenue from these brands. However, their partner brands are quickly becoming more important to their business as a majority the company’s growth recently has come from new ones. In addition to the brand architecture, they report the financial performance of their brands by grouping them into four different categories: boys, girls, games, and preschool. Boys and games has been a majority of their business mostly, but that is beginning to change recently as their girl brands are beginning to grow. (10K and Hasbro quarterly reports).Hasbro is a global company that has sales around the world. They report their sales in four segments: US/ Canada, International, Entertainment and Licensing, and Global Operations. The International segment is further segmented into Europe, Latin America, and Asia/Pacific, where they directly operate (10K). Within these segments and brands, it is difficult to identify which toys and games are their core items because they have almost 2,700 individual products that they currently sell in addition to their non-toy items, digital games,

As their name and ideal, Lego has been beloved by the children as well as the parents for decades. Not only as plastic toy bricks, but also effective educational tools, the LEGO Company enjoyed continuous growth and broaden the global brand value. The LEGO brand moved to third place in 2002/2003 with only Coca-cola and Kellogg having greater respect among families with children. Even though as the overall toy market faces challenges, LEGO’s revenue and profits are increasing rapidly, especially since 2005. This profitability didn’t change even in the current recession in the global market. The LEGO Group achieved record-breaking profits in

MATTEL TOYS RECALL CASE STUDY Product  recall:   On  August  14,  2007,  the  U.S.  Consumer  Product  Safety   Commission  (CPSC)  in  cooperation  with  Mattel  announced  five   different  recalls  of  Mattel's  toys.  On  September  4,  Mattel   announced  three  more  recalls.  Some  were  due  to  the  use  of  lead   paint,  while  others  were  due  to  small  magnets  coming  loose.             On  August  2,  2007,  Mattel's  Fisher-­‐Price  subsidiary  recalled   almost  one  million  Chinese-­‐made  toys,  including  the