Mattel is struggling to sell Barbies
On Wednesday, the toy company reported in its second-quarter earnings that its dolls category revenue declined 19% compared to the same period last year. Sales for the dolls category were $335 million.
Mattel's dolls product category includes brands like Barbie, American Girl, and Barney, among others.
In a Wednesday earnings call, Mattel's newly installed finance chief, Paul Ruh, said the decline in doll sales was "primarily due to fewer new Barbie product launches."
Mattel's CEO, Ynon Kreiz, added that "lower associated retailer promotional support" contributed to weak doll sales.
However, the toymaker's other brands performed better. Mattel's vehicles product category, led by Hot Wheels, saw a 10% increase in sales in the last quarter compared to the year before, with sales of $407 million.
Kreiz said he expected doll sales to pick up in the second half of the year.
"In the dolls category, we'll see improving trends with Barbie in the second half, new product innovation, more partnerships and activations later in the year," Kreiz said in the earnings call.
The company reported a second-quarter net revenue decline of 6% compared to the year before, with sales totalling $1.02 billion. It also reported a net income of $53 million, $4 million less than the year before.
Mattel's stock price was down nearly 5% in after-hours trading on Wednesday. However, it is up about 17% in the past year.
In May, Mattel announced that it would raise the prices of its toys, including Barbies, to offset the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs. Per Kreiz's comments in the Wednesday earnings call, the price hike went into effect in the latest quarter.
"Even with the price actions — pricing actions were already implemented — approximately 40% to 50% of our product in the US will continue to be priced below $20," Kreiz said in the call.
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