Mattel says it will raise prices after Trump says Americans don’t need so many dolls
In a Tuesday appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz said Mattel could move its manufacturing industry to the United States based on President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods. “We can’t see this,” Craz said. But what Mattel Do What is seeing is the price increase in the United States. In the interview, Kreiz cites three key strategies the company is deploying to alleviate Trump’s trade war costs, including “pricing actions.”
The conversation took place a day after Mattel withdrew its annual financial forecast and explained In the first quarter earnings report That’s “Given the macroeconomic environment and the evolving U.S. tariff environment, it’s hard to predict consumer spending and Mattel’s remaining time and holiday season U.S. sales.” In the report, Mattel also said it has raised its cost saving target for that year from $60 million to $80 million, part of which will be achieved by cutting promotions and discounts. (In another cost-cutting move, the company also ruled over a hundred employees from its headquarters in El Segundo, California, at the end of March.)
In terms of its efforts to address tariffs, Kreiz said the company is also committed to diversifying its global supply chain to reduce its reliance on China. In today’s conversation, the head of Mattel claimed that in two years, no country will account for more than 25% of Mattel’s procurement.
Outside China, Mattel also imports products from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand (including Barbie dolls, Hot Wheels and American Girl dolls). These countries were also targets for mutual tariffs announced by the Trump administration in early April, and then suspended for 90 days.
Kreiz’s “Squawk Box” looks less than a week, and when President Trump talked about the impact of tariffs on the toy industry (80% of global play-making production takes place in China), he said that at a cabinet meeting, “OK, “OK, kids will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know these two dolls will cost more than they normally would. When asked today whether Christmas is in danger, Crez stressed that Mattel is committed to producing a stable supply of products under “reasonably priced widespread prices.” Ross analyst Eric Handler told CNBC that Mattel expects to put 40% to 50% of its products under $20.
The Toy Association, a trading group representing the U.S. toy industry, has worked to violate Trump’s tariffs since its announcement. Kreiz expressed support for the organization’s advocacy in the interview, calling toys a “important part of children’s lives.”
Kreiz came from Maker Studios in 2018, a content creation company, Maker Studios, which was acquired by Disney in 2016. The Barbie Doll brand, led by Krez, released its best full-year sales results ever in 2021.
“Maybe the kids will have two dolls, not 30 dolls,” President Trump said last week in a cabinet meeting. He insists that Americans will be happy to do whatever he thinks the ultimate goal of the trade war is. No one is sure what that is, but maybe we will know on Black Friday.
