Mattel, Inc.

Company information

• Date founded: 1945
• Industry: Toy manufacturing
• Corporate Headquarters: El Segundo, California
• Type: Public

Overview

Mattel, Inc. is a multinational toy manufacturing company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded by Elliot and Ruth Handler and Harold “Matt” Matson in 1945, Mattel quickly grew to become one of the largest toy manufacturing companies in the world. The toy industry giant produced many of the most popular and widely recognized toys and toy brands on the market since the mid-twentieth century. These include Barbie, Hot Wheels, Matchbox, Fisher-Price, Thomas & Friends, and American Girl. In terms of revenue, Mattel is the second-largest toy manufacturer in the world as of 2023. The company has an operational presence in more than thirty-five locations worldwide, and its products are available in at least 150 countries. In addition to toys, Mattel’s broader range of product offerings includes film and television media, games, music, and live event experiences. Mattel, Inc. is divided into three distinct business segments: North America, International, and American Girl. The North American segment is responsible for marketing and selling toys in the United States and Canada. While the International segment markets and sells many of the same products in other global regions, it also focuses on products designed specifically for markets outside North America. The American Girl segment, meanwhile, directly markets and sells a wide range of products associated with the American Girl, My American Girl, and Bitty Baby brands. In addition to its main businesses, Mattel also operates the Mattel Children’s Foundation, a charitable entity that aims to make a difference in children’s lives through various philanthropic endeavors.

History

Mattel was founded in 1945 by Ruth and Elliot Handler and Harold “Matt” Matson. The Handlers, who previously operated a successful giftware and costume jewelry company, joined forces with Handler to start a new business venture that initially specialized in the manufacture and sale of wooden picture frames and dollhouse furniture. They named the company “Mattel,” which was a portmanteau of “Matt” (Matson) and “El” (Elliot). Before long, however, Matson was forced to step away from the company due to ill health, thus leaving the Handlers solely in charge of the new enterprise.

Although the Handlers enjoyed some early success with their original picture frame and dollhouse furniture product lines, they soon decided to move Mattel into postwar America’s quickly emerging toy market. The company’s first toys included a make-believe makeup set and a birdy bank. It was not until the debut of a miniature plastic ukulele called the Uke-A-Doodle in 1947 that Mattel had a major hit on its hands. As the company’s sales were approaching five million dollars in the mid-1950s, Mattel brokered a critical deal with the Walt Disney Company to sponsor a fifteen-minute segment of the popular Mickey Mouse Club television show for a year. The sponsorship instantly made Mattel the most recognizable toy brand nationwide.

Mattel’s next big breakthrough came later in the decade after Ruth Elliot noticed that her young daughter, Barbara, seemed to favor adult paper dolls over baby paper dolls. This observation ultimately led Ruth to create a teenage fashion doll that she dubbed “Barbie.” Although it took some time for consumers to warm up to Barbie after her initial unveiling at the 1959 New York Toy Fair, the later introduction of separately marketed Barbie clothes and accessories soon made the doll a smash hit. Barbie’s soaring popularity eventually led to a massive expansion of the product line that saw the introduction of numerous other dolls, including Barbie’s boyfriend. Ken (1961), her friend Midge (1963), her sister Skipper (1965), and many others. An ever-growing array of other Barbie toys, including cars like the Barbie Corvette and playsets like the Barbie Dreamhouse, were also added in the years that followed.

Powered by the success of the Barbie line, Mattel solidified its position as a toy industry leader in the 1960s. After becoming a publicly traded company in 1960 and first appearing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in 1963, the company’s sales soon exceeded one hundred million dollars. On the creative front, Mattel continued to find success with new toy offerings, including Hot Wheels miniature model cars, the Chatty Cathy talking doll, and See ‘N Say talking educational toys. Through the 1970s and 1980s, Mattel also acquired a wide array of other toy companies. One of its biggest acquisitions was the 1993 purchase of infant and preschool toy manufacturer Fisher-Price; this acquisition led to Mattel becoming the largest toy company in the world, a position it held until 2015. Leaders at Mattel continued pursuing new acquisitions and launching new product lines well into the twenty-first century, ensuring that the company remained one of the largest and most successful toy manufacturers for years to come.

Impact

For much of its existence, Mattel has been one of the most powerful and influential forces in the toy manufacturing and entertainment industries. Through its popular toy lines, acquisitions of other toy companies, and partnerships with various entertainment entities, Mattel has carved out a lasting legacy as a toy industry giant.

While Mattel has been at the forefront of the toy industry since its inception and has enjoyed considerable success in the decades that followed, it has also had its fair share of missteps and controversies. Many of the company’s biggest and most well-known controversies are those tied to the Barbie line. While Barbie is easily Mattel’s most popular and successful product, the brand has often been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism. Many critics have slammed Barbie for promoting unrealistic standards of beauty and unhealthy ideas about body image, even to the point of leading some young women to feel self-conscious about their own appearance. A number of specific Barbie products have also been subject to criticism and consumer backlash for sexism and reinforcement of gender roles. One such product was the 1992 “Teen Talk” Barbie that was programmed to say several pre-recorded phrases. Among these was the phrase, “Math class is tough!” Critics argued that this particular phrase suggested that girls were less apt to excel at math than boys were, and many parents expressed anger at Mattel for the oversight.

Another significant controversy arose in 2007 when Mattel was forced to recall more than eighteen million products due to a lead contamination scandal. On the financial front, Mattel found itself under scrutiny again in 2019 when a whistleblower revealed that the company conspired with auditors to cover up a one-hundred-million-dollar accounting error.

In the twenty-first century, Mattel has attempted to make its Barbie line of dolls reflect the increasingly inclusive nature of society. In 2023, the company unveiled a Barbie Doll with Down Syndrome and a doll to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander heritage month. The company said its goal was to allow more children to see themselves reflected in a Barbie doll.

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