Thread regarding Mattel Inc. layoffs

Truth is it's California and their backwards mindset along with a few jaded old queens who've been phoning it in for the past 8-10 years. Adler anyone?

It's a thread, not a chain.

In recent years the core FP brand has done a respectable job consistantly putting out noteworthy products. Baby Gear has had meaningful applications of smartphone integration and new platforms, the imaginext team puts out quality toys, the infant team has found success in their BeatBo and monsters line, Power Wheels is doing exciting new formats, the preschool team has had modest success with Code a Piller and friends. Not sure what's up with the Little People brand, but overall I feel it would be fair to say that FP is pretty much firing on all cylinders, or at least as well as it can considering their uncompetitive margin requirments and revolving door of leaders, and constantly moving strategic targets.

It's funny, there's so much rhetoric railing against Thomas and FP, but I don't see one posting on ANY of the chains about ANY virtues of any of the brands or products being developed in ES. It's curious as to the slamming that FP gets (which, albeit is down single digits in revenue) but somehow the abysmal FAILURE of Barbie, Monster High, EverAfter High, and now "ExcrementAmals" goes without a single comment.

If you're so damn better than FP, then post some evidence of it (other than "I'm in California and just am better than you"). I dare anyone to show any positive momentum (meaning REVENUE) of a single product line in ES Segundo.

just to chime in here. those thomas 10% growth increments that your so proud of? that's like trying to put out a 5 alarm fire with a stream of urine. doesn't mean diddlysquat when the company is failing around you. Sorry! truth hurts.

clarification: crap bear and friends were overpriced, didn't sell and were another core one and done product.

FYI, miss vertigo is still here. someone isvreferring to someone else.

Hold please... I'm putting your highlights of FP in my prospectus for potential investors to carve off that piece of business.

Last poster:

Name one brand being managed in ES that has any value and is growing?

Thanks for writing the for sale copy for FP.

Mattel should sell FP to MGA or another company since its "doing so well". Hahaha then they can take all your IP and close your overpriced office down.

Wow - it's amazing how some people spout off "facts" as if they actually think they know anything:

1) FP acquired the "crap bear" from the now defunct Carousel toys and brought it to market in 6 months. Little known fact: although it was over-priced, it actually WORKED, which is a lot more than can be said about Hello Barbie (doll and dream house, take your pick) or Death Star HotWheels sets (actually ANY HotWheels set doesn't work).

2) The Train Set line was an Exclusive for TRU and was incremental to Thomas (which they paid for).

3) Thomas segmentation has been reduced and oh, yeah, it keeps growing by 10% every year which is more than any other Mattel brand........ever!

4) Miss Vertigo left last fall, Mr. Clearly On the Outside Looking In

And I bet you don't own a computer unless its a Compaq and haven't discovered the content on a new site called YouTube.

Even that is frowned upon unless your useless manager (or above) bails at 1. Otherwise you're looked at as non committal.

There has been only one positive to Mattel buying Fisher Price years ago: Friday’s at 1pm quitting time. Product design and quality have not benefited at all.

FP core had that crap interactive bear, spent millions on a failed packaging redesign of their core brands and tried their own train line to water down thomas some more (like it isn't subsegmented enough). Friends hasn't had a decent license brought in house in years that they haven't outright bought (hopefully that changes since the great white whale was harpooned) and friends forbthe most part doesn't have anything or anyone so special on staff that the company couldn't replace in a heartbeat. a-- clown might come back after tru went tits up, soreknees keeps churning out the same crap. god knows how miss vertigo is still there and content is just pitiful.

Fisher-Price is so much better. Just look at the facts:

1) Had Toy of the Year in 2015 (Mattel has NEVER had Toy of the Year)

2) Is TWICE the size of Barbie

3) Has never had the highs and lows of fashion dolls - it's stable business

4) It's actually had growth in the last few years, while EVERYTHING in ES has declined (except licensed HotWheels which just rides the coattails of Star Wars)

5) It's staffed with talented people while ES is populated by entitled, untalented, 3rd string players who can't develop a successful toys to save their lives.

6) Fisher-Price hasn't embarrassed the company with failed toys, but ES holds the record and is an embarrassment to the entire industry, never mind Mattel:

• Hello Barbie

• Hello Barbie Dreamhouse

• EverAfter High

-Thingmaker

• Cookie Baking Matchbox Dumptruck

• Planting Matchbox Truck

• Any DC comics interation (the FP Imaginext DC line is 5 times bigger than anything ES does)

All this, and you monkeys in ES think the company trusts you with anything valuable?! Look yourself in the mirror - what have you actually done that drove sales or profit for this company that can even hold a candle to FP?

Yeah - that's what I thought. Nothing. Shut up and go home, posers.

Right... like Fisher-Price is any better.

Mattel, do the right thing and set Fisher Price free. Don’t take them down with you.

There is not ONE THING that the ES campus does well:

1) They have not been able to turnaround the cataclysmic decline of Barbie for 10+ years

2) HotWheels MAKE NO MONEY

3) The Toy Box MAKE NO MONEY

Why does anyone who works there think they have value?!

yes and all of those animations generated crap. the LA aesthetic is about as exciting as watching the sprouts grow on a chia pet. ES has always thought so high of themselves and it was soooo unjustified. weak sub par content that was out of touch years before they infected the rest of the company with their superficial mindset. spend your days online shopping for shoes so your velvet mafia boss can notice your footwear and pay you a compliment.

Hey dope, the so called animation I was referring to was the Barbie, Hot Wheels, Monster High, & Max Steel which survived for 10 years before those idiots changed the look, storyline, & animation of the line which is all done by in house hacks..................

and this is the exact reason why the thomas team was out is ES last month for possible relocation. buh-bye NYC. the last of the great toy companies is leaving. now all you'll have is skipcrap and their cast off marketing wastes from FP

BTW - those Thomas YouTube shorts cost less than $15k to make, far less than the crappy HotWheel videos and Barbie DVDs. In fact, Thomas longform episodes are HALF THE COST of the Barbie versions.

Why? Because COMPETENT people work on Thomas and INCOMPETENT people work on Barbie. Besides the fact that Thomas is a better brand than Barbie.

Hey, Californians, let me answer your imbecilic question for you:

1) Thomas YouTube shorts have increased viewer ship over 7,000 % since the original YouTube deal. If you want to get more stories for your brand in front of the correct audience, why wouldn't you do more of it?

2) Revenue is down because Thomas used to have 5 commercials a year driving over $400M and it's been cut to 1 in order to shift dollars to artificially prop up Barbie. Yet Barbie continues to decline - she's like a vampire, s---ing the life out of the other brands and the entire company.

3) Thomas has been around for 70 years, not 10 (you dope) and has changed formats of animation several times.

Thomas is STILL growing faster than FP, Barbie and AG and make more $$$ margin than HotWheels (which makes less than 6 cents per basic car - LESS THAN 6 CENTS!!!!! Why bother?!!!!)

If you did just a little research instead of spouting off like the red headed kid on THE TOY BOX, you'd save yourself the embarrassment of being an idiot.

another marketing dope in NYC has been taking extended lunches and dressing better than her usual shlub fashion wear. let's see how long it takes ol mumble mouth to land a new gig with her less than stellar marketing record. this fat rat is sure to sink.

Heck, you need Augmented Reality at Mattel just to think you're in the presence of management skill, design talent, or corporate ethics.

that is the most hack written hokey crap i've ever seen. and to think that the thomas show itself is dumbed down content.

I witnessed so called designers who all of sudden thought they were writers/producers and walked around like they owned the place because they got their names on the credits at the end of that wasted animation. The crap they were writing was useless drivel and ruined a line that was in existence for 10 plus years. Then they would force the design team that was actually designing/developing the product stick to their useless so called content. If you complained about it you were labeled loose canon with a bad attitude.

That entire team should be fired but they are all in the AKC aka ...kissing club so they all get promoted .