While the pandemic and lockdown have spelled disaster for many companies and brands, Mattel have seen their fortunes spike in a positive way as they enjoyed their largest quarterly sales increase in a decade as Barbie and Hot Wheels – which of course includes the Star Wars IP – rose 10 percent to $1.63bn against the same period last year, with the expectation that sales will continue to grow over the fourth quarter. Europe, the Middle East and Africa saw sales grow at a rate of double the wider toy market, while the States increased by 1.4.
“We saw a major upswing in topline and a significant increase in profitability as we continued to make meaningful progress towards becoming an IP-driven, high-performing toy company,” he said in his Q3 earnings statement. “The toy industry, as a whole, grew significantly and continues to demonstrate its resilience in challenging economic times.
“When kids stay at home, parents want to keep them entertained and engaged,” said Kreiz. “We are working hard to meet this strong demand. Parents are prioritising their spend on children, and are looking for high-quality products at affordable price points, especially with trusted brands.”
Dolls were Mattel’s best-selling category in the three months to the end of September, with sales up 22 per cent year over year to $691m, driven by Barbie. Action figures, building sets, card games and toy vehicles also sold well, helping the company’s net revenues rise 10 per cent to $1.63bn.
Net income jumped from $71m to $316m. E-commerce drove much of Mattel’s sales growth in the quarter while online sales rose 50 per cent to account for about 30 per cent of the company’s sales total.
Mattel’s third quarter results show a sharp improvement from the previous quarter, when net sales dropped 15 per cent and the company reported a net loss of $109m. Mr Kreiz argued that Mattel had taken market share from rivals in the period.
Popular items in the period included Barbie DreamHouse, Uno card games and Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage, as well as Baby Yoda plush toys from the Star Wars franchise.
