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The Barbie movie created a global cultural event and with at least 16 more films aimed at adults in the pipeline, could this signal the start of a new era in the toy industry?
ADVERTISEMENTBarbie was the highest grossing movie worldwide in 2023 and topped internet searches in the US for movie merchandise earlier this year.
During the pandemic, when everyone was looking for entertainment at home, the toy industry grew rapidly. Sales were up 16-20% in 2020.
While the industry as a whole has since retreated to its pre-pandemic growth levels, Mattel has continued to grow and outpaced its competition.
In “an industry where the average life expectancy of a brand is 3 to 5 years”, what is Mattel’s secret to success?
This episode of The Big Question sees Sanjay Luthra, EVP Managing Director EMEA & Global Head Direct to Consumer at Mattel sit down with Hannah Brown to discuss the Barbie effect and Mattel’s new customer strategy.
Mattel ‘broke the mould’
Barbie may look very young, but in actual fact she is over 65 years old. When she was created by Ruth Handler, she broke the mould as the first doll designed to inspire young girls to look beyond the traditional roles of wife and mother and now comes in more than 180 different shapes and sizes.
In the 2023 Barbie film, *spoiler alert*, the big bosses of Mattel are depicted as the bad guys. It’s a surprisingly bold move that many companies would never contemplate.
“We are very serious about our brands but we are not so serious about ourselves,” Sanjay laughed when asked about this decision.
And it definitely paid off. The film triggered an iconic cultural moment and is the first in a line of Mattel movies firmly aimed at an adult audience.
Are toys just for children?
Mattel is “no more a toy company,” Sanjay told The Big Question.
But don’t worry, they’re not going totally off-piste. “It’s a toy and family entertainment company and we want to build a lot of business, films, television, live events, consumer products, and digital gaming all beyond the toys.”
While Barbie may be Mattel’s biggest brand, one of their fastest growing businesses at the moment is Mattel Creations, which is named after the sign on the original garage where the company started in 1945.
Forget about cheap toys aimed at children, Mattel Creations caters to an adult audience who are looking for a much more detailed and premium product.
“There is a trend emerging, which is adult fans and collectors who are getting heavily into the toy industry,” Sanjay explains.
“They want to connect with their childhood memories.”
ADVERTISEMENTIn the US from 2020 to 2022, this market has grown $3.9bn (€3.25bn) and whilst not quite as big, the European adult market has grown by a billion over the same period.
Recent collaborations saw Monster High dolls team up with high end fashion brand Off-White for a collection of limited edition dolls retailing at €185. The first launch sold out in a matter of hours.
How to keep an older demographic engaged?
Sanjay and his team have also used Mattel Creations as a place for fans to gather and the company to gain customer insights.
In March 2024 they ran their first Mattel REVEALED virtual event. Over two days, fans could tune in to see previews of upcoming products and behind the scenes insights from some of the toy designers.
ADVERTISEMENT“We thought we might get like 4,000 or 5000 fans coming on that,” Sanjay explained.
“You won’t believe, we saw 65,000 fans coming online and connecting there. It’s like a football stadium.”
“We sold a lot of toys, but the amount of feedback and data which we got, will help us as I talk about building this community to the next level.”
The Big Questionis a series from Euronews Business where we sit down with industry leaders and experts to discuss some of the most important topics on today’s agenda.
ADVERTISEMENTWatch the video above for the full conversation with Mattel.
Video editor • Joanna Adhem
