Mattel's Troubles and Competitors
About Mattel, Inc - Mattel started out as a garage workshop activity in Southern California in 1947 (Mattel Inc. 2007). Its founders were Ruth and Elliot Handle and Harold Matson, from whom the company was derived. Their first simple products were picture frames. Elliot thought of starting a doll house furniture business from their picture frame scraps. Harold Matson later sold his share of the business to the Handlers who decided to embark on toy production (Mattel). The Handlers' first product in the toys line was the Uke-a-Doodle in 1947 (Mattel 2007). In 1955, they began advertising their products through the Mickey Mouse Club. They introduced Barbie in 1959, naming it after their daughter Barbara who had a fascination with cut out paper dolls. Barbie became the foremost doll brand in the toy industry. In 1960, Mattel became a publicly owned company, listed in the New York and Pacific Coast Stock Exchanges in 1963 and 1965. At this time, its sales shot up to $100 million and Mattel joined the Fortune 500 list. From the 60s to the 70s, It added the Ken Doll; See N Say talking toy for the educational market; Hot Wheels die cast vehicles; the World of the young; and Christine, an African-American doll. In the same decad
The risk they take, according to these experts, would be to be disloyal to the manufacturers who give them business (Fixman). Manufacturers from China reported to the company how they were being blamed for design faults. Other critics commented that these companies must continually update their product lines in order to stay ahead of their business. Yet test results by the Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed lead levels as high as 96%. It even improved the inspection of food, drugs and other products on account of the concerns. Oriental Trading said it was not doing business with the manufacturer any more. It all started when tests showed the lead paint content in the recalled toys to have reached as high as 110,000 parts per million. In response to concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed, Mattel ordered the recall of more than 21 million Chinese-made toys last summer (Olesen 2007). On the other hand, bisphenol is used as epoxy resins for food cans and as dental sealants. Matter geared up with a campaign to release 250 new toys. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc, Target Corporation and Toys "R: Us Inc.
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