Overview of Mattel
Mattel by Felicia Martinez
Overview It is hard not to think of Mattel when one thinks of toy manufacturers. After all, in 1959 when Mattel introduced their product the Barbie doll they became the forefront of the toy industry and have not backed down from that position since. Before they became the toy industry giant they are today Mattel simply started in a garage workshop in Southern California by entrepreneurs Ruth Handler, Elliot Handler, and Harold Matson. Harold Matson soon sold his share of the company and the Handlers took full control (Patten, 2008). Despite the fact that their success was gained by the manufacturing and distribution of toys, Mattel started out producing picture frames. It was when Elliot Handler started making dollhouse furniture from the scraps left over from the production of the picture frames that the company started in the direction that would land them on the Fortune 500 list (Bellis, 2012). When Mattel realized that their dollhouse furniture was outselling their original picture frames they decided to make the switch to becoming a toy manufacturing company fulltime. Their first big-seller was a toy ukulele called the "Uke-a-doodle." Following the success of the Uke-a-doodle Mattel became incorporated and moved their headquarters to Hawthorne, California (Corporate Mattel, n.d.). In 1955 Mattel became a toy industry pioneer by buying the rights to produce the popular "Mickey Mouse Club" products. The cross-marketing promotion demonstrated by Mattel became a common practice for future toy manufacturers. Around this time Mattel also introduced another product that became highly successful called the Burp Gun, an automatic cap gun based on a patented mechanism. Four years following this success in 1959 the Barbie doll made its debut. Inspired by the success of cutout paper dolls, Ruth Handler decided a three-dimensional fashion doll would be more enjoyable for little girls to play with (Mary, B, n.d.). As it turns out
Overview It is hard not to think of Mattel when one thinks of toy manufacturers. After all, in 1959 when Mattel introduced their product the Barbie doll they became the forefront of the toy industry and have not backed down from that position since. Before they became the toy industry giant they are today Mattel simply started in a garage workshop in Southern California by entrepreneurs Ruth Handler, Elliot Handler, and Harold Matson. Harold Matson soon sold his share of the company and the Handlers took full control (Patten, 2008). Despite the fact that their success was gained by the manufacturing and distribution of toys, Mattel started out producing picture frames. It was when Elliot Handler started making dollhouse furniture from the scraps left over from the production of the picture frames that the company started in the direction that would land them on the Fortune 500 list (Bellis, 2012). When Mattel realized that their dollhouse furniture was outselling their original picture frames they decided to make the switch to becoming a toy manufacturing company fulltime. Their first big-seller was a toy ukulele called the "Uke-a-doodle." Following the success of the Uke-a-doodle Mattel became incorporated and moved their headquarters to Hawthorne, California (Corporate Mattel, n.d.). In 1955 Mattel became a toy industry pioneer by buying the rights to produce the popular "Mickey Mouse Club" products. The cross-marketing promotion demonstrated by Mattel became a common practice for future toy manufacturers. Around this time Mattel also introduced another product that became highly successful called the Burp Gun, an automatic cap gun based on a patented mechanism. Four years following this success in 1959 the Barbie doll made its debut. Inspired by the success of cutout paper dolls, Ruth Handler decided a three-dimensional fashion doll would be more enjoyable for little girls to play with (Mary, B, n.d.). As it turns out
References: Bellis, M. (2012.). Retrieved from http://inventors.about.com/od/bstartinventions/a/The-History-Of-Barbie-Dolls_3.htm Adelsen-Yan, J. (2013) Retrieved from http://www.askingsmarterquestions.com/capitalizing-on-toy-trends-for-2013/ Takahashi, D. (2009) Retrieved from http://venturebeat.com/2009/01/08/ces-mattel-launches-a-bunch-of-digital-toys-revamps-web-sites/ Mirpuri, D. (2009) Retrieved from http://toys.about.com/od/fisherpricelearningtoys/a/fpclassictoys.htm Patten, D. V. (2008). Retrieved from http://collectdolls.about.com/od/barbiemodern/p/mattel.htm Baillet, A. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.arnec.net/cos/o.x?ptid=1036089&c=/swt_arnec/articles&func=view&rid=377 Chaudhuri, S. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mattel-profit-drops-17-on-litigation-charge-2013-02-01 Yousigma, (2008). Retrieved from http://www.yousigma.com/benchmarking/mattelsglobalmarketingstrategy.html