Company: Mattel Inc.

Founders: Harold Matson, Elliot Handler, and Ruth Handler

Industry: Trade/Retail Industry

History:

Mattel Inc. manufactures and sells toy products worldwide. Their wide array of products is under various brands such as Barbie, Matchbox Cars, Hot Wheels, Polly Pocket, Sesame Street, Winnie the Pooh, Dora the Explorer, Disney Classics and High School Musical. The company also publishes books and magazines for children.

In 1945, the company has founded by Harold “Matt” Matson, Elliot Handler, and Handler’s wife, Ruth. The name Mattel is Matt and Elliot’s names combined.

The company first manufactured wood products. They started to sell toys in the 1950s. Barbie was first introduced in 1959. The firm’s advertisement for Barbie and other products made Mattel a household name for both parents and children. The firm continued to thrive with continuous modification of Barbie and the introduction of lines such as Hot Wheels.

In May 1999, Mattel obtained The Learning Company which was then one of the top educational and entertainment software companies. By the end of the year, Mattel expected a profit of $50 million from The Learning Company, but results were otherwise. During the fourth quarter, The Learning Company had pre-tax loses that totaled $183 million. Then things went worse. Due to The Learning Company’s decline, Mattel was losing $1.5 million per day by the year 2000.
Mattel announced in April 2000 that they were selling The Learning Company. In October, the software company was sold for nothing but a percentage of future profits to Gores Technology.

Leadership:

Robert A. Eckert, Chairman of the Board and CEO
Kevin Farr, CFO
Board of Directors has 11 members