Mattel Situation Overview

Barbie, a name derived from the nickname of their daughter, became one of the companies major product line accounting for 50% of their sales. In 1960, the company was listed as the public entity and soon made its way into the list of the Fortune 500 as one of the US largest industrial companies. Four years later, the company had gone international with the opening of its first foreign office in Switzerland. Hot Wheels, another product line of the company was introduced in 1968. This was to be the second hit for the company since the inception of the Barbie doll. The change of leadership of the company has put it in a right financial spot. However, the low economy and the low customer confidence has a tremendous effect on the company.

Problem/Decision Statement Companies compete in the world every day to have their products bought and be the top sellers in the market. Mattel Company is one of those companies, and although it is reputable in the field, the struggle is real. The company faces many challenges, and it will continue to meet this challenges in the future, this challenges include, creating a breakthrough in the cultural barriers that faces its products in the world, developing products in the world that would be accepted across all generations and this includes teens and adolescents and being able to regain its lost market position. It is alleged that the toy encourages the youths to be promiscuous. Controversies seem to surround the company in all its circles, in the country, for instance, there has been a significant backlash that the doll represents a feminist view.

By continuously ignoring this issues, the company has been able to face a lot of challenges in the market. This has made the company to enjoy a downward slope in the market proposition continuously. One of the significant problems that need to be addressed by the company is being able to adapt its products within the context of changing society. Strategy 2 The second strategy for the company is to venture into the technology market. In the 1970s, the company tried to penetrate this market with handheld electronic games and other gaming platforms. This products lines, however, did not benefit the company as there was in existence other companies with copycat strategies that imitated the products and sold it in the market at meager prices.

In 1999, the company again tried to gain the technology market by purchasing The Learning Company, this strategy however failed due to the presence of copycat companies. Despite this, the company has some chances of getting better in this field and creating a niche for themselves. The company has been faced with challenges such as the threat of new entrants, poor leadership, and philosophy combined with poor culture across the world. In this world, children are moving further and further away from tangible toys, and this is becoming a threat to the existence and the profitability of the company. In today’s world, toys have been replaced with more technological products like the video games and online games. With this in mind, the company needs to venture into the technical products for it to be embraced all over the world and to gain market control.