Thedecline margins our popular in on Gtoftry doIIproduct become has intolerable. production Increasing haae costs dropped pretaxmarginto less our than10%, below historical our 257omargins, wearegoing If far to increase margins, need consider our we to drastically shiftingour production towards sfecialtydolts aie that earning large prnniumin priceoaer standard line. a our doll -Robert Parker,President, G.G.Toys
Background
Robert Parker, president of G.G. Toys, was discussing last month's operating results with Audrey Hausner, G.G.'s conkoller, and David Morehouse, G.G.'s manufacturing manager. The meeting was taking place in an atmosphere tinged with apprehension because margins on thelr most popular product, the "Geoffrey doll," had been declining rapidly in the last few years due to rising production costs (summary operating results for the previous month, March 2000, arc shown in Exhibits 1 and 2). Parker saw no choice but to shift the company's product mix towards specialty dolls that carried a high price premium, and thus, a 34% margin. G.G. Toys was a leading supplier of high-quality dolls to retail toy stores throughout the U.S, The comPany had started with a unique design for molding highly durable dolls using vinyl and resin materials. G.G. quickly established a loyal customer base among retailers because of the high quality and popularity of its manufactured dolls. It soon established a major presence in the market with its high-volume Geoffrey doll product line. The company operated two separate plants. The Chicago plant was used for the production of various dolls. The Springfield plant was used solely to assemble doll cradles to complement the company's dolls. The Geoffrey doll was designed to be a replica of an infant boy or girl clothed in a simple pajama outfit with movable acrylic eyelids and jointed, movable arms and legs. Boy and girl versions of the doll were produced to almost identical specifications with minor differences in the