Last year, the toy industry was among the few to prosper as the pandemic upended many businesses. For Mattel, it was the second straight year of growth, and Lisa McKnight, global head of Barbie and dolls, attributed the company's success to its legacy brands Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Fisher-Price.
"Not only is Barbie, again, the premier brand in connecting to culture, reflecting what's going on around us, but we made a real effort to shift our strategies. We leaned into social [media] to make sure that we were cultivating conversation right out of the gate and providing not only entertaining content but also important, relevant content to help parents navigate through this incredible time," she told Cheddar.
Growth within the Barbie line, according to McKnight, expanded last year and the company saw incremental sales after the launch of Barbie Extra, which targets an older audience. Perhaps the most stunning part about Barbie's success over the past year is the rate at which another legacy item, the Dreamhouse, flew off of shelves.
"We constantly reinvent it, and last year, we sold one Dreamhouse every minute. It did incredibly well because of its play value and [it] resonates with parents that grew up with the Dreamhouse themselves," she said.
As corporate America engages in conversations surrounding social progress, Mattel has invested in its Play Fair initiative, which aims to snuff out systemic racism. Inclusivity, diversity, and representation continue to be pillars the company says it strives for, whether it be through its toy lines, workplace demographics, or by giving a voice to those who often go unheard.
While Mattel is trending upward in terms of growth and sales, upcoming projects like a Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie, the Barbie digital gaming app, and the enhanced line of body types offered in its dolls will potentially help the brand maintain its standing.
"Obviously we have to go where our consumers are going, and certainly they're consuming digital media like never before. We've had great success with our kid-targeted gaming app, and we're going to be looking at expanding the audience in the future years," McKnight said.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
