It’s the late 1940s and two small toymakers are taking their first uneasy steps. The names of these young hopefuls are Hasbro and Mattel. One’s an offshoot of a pencil manufacturer. The other a husband-and-wife garage start-up.But toy-mayking, they soon discover, is an unexpectedly cutthroat business. If either of thes...
It’s the 1960s and Hasbro is struggling. The pencil manufacturer turned toymaker hasn’t had a major success since Mr. Potato Head hit the shelves in 1952, and it’s starting to lose money. If the company doesn’t act fast, it’ll be headed for bankruptcy in no time.Mattel’s “accessories sold separately” approach to Barbie...
Sizzlers, Mattel’s new motorized Hot Wheels, were supposed to be the top toy this Christmas. But sales have fizzled, leaving Mattel $30 million below target. For the last ten years, Mattel’s done exceptionally well by its investors, but now the toymaker is facing a stock price collapse. To keep up appearances, Mattel s...
It’s the early 1980s and things are not looking good for Hasbro. The company hasn’t had a hit since Hungry Hungry Hippos; its founding CEO Merrill Hassenfeld has just died; now Star Wars dolls have just about gobbled up the entire action figure market. Hasbro needs to deliver a toy capable of taking on the Star Wars do...
A few months ago, Mattel’s revenues were just fifty million dollars behind Hasbro’s. But now that Hasbro’s swallowed Tonka—the classic maker of Nerf, Play-Doh, and Monopoly—Mattel is half a billion dollars behind, and CEO John Amerman isn’t happy about it.Ever since Hasbro turned British fashion doll Sindy into a Barbi...
With the world plugging into the Internet, toys are under pressure. Kids are swapping plastic play for screen-based entertainment and both Mattel and Hasbro need to adapt. The question is: how?Mattel’s also finding out the hard way that Barbie’s reign as the queen of dolls is no longer secure. Challengers to her throne...
Bratz. Monster High. Funko. These are the toys that rule the roost in 2019. Veteran toy industry analyst Sean McGowan joins to discuss the big business of toys today, how Hasbro and Mattel can compete, and what’s going on with Lego.You can find new episodes of Business Wars, completely ad-free, only on Stitcher Premium...