I think the issue here is that those supporting Barbie are too young to see the larger and longer story that is ending here.
For decades Mattel has acquired companies for 1 reason - to make up for the decline of Barbie. They buy these companies solely to bolster their numbers and to live to fight another day in figuring out what’s wrong with Barbie.
American Girl, Fisher-Price and Thomas were GROWING when Mattel bought them. They’ve only declined since Mattel stopped investing in them, as they’d been supported when they were run independently. They are only failing now because they are being supported - and Barbie is being propped up artificially. It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy to stop investing and then see a decline. At this stage Barbies marketing budget is higher than its profit! In what Universe does that make any business sense to do, except one where you’re desperate, out of options and too far down a road you can’t turn back on?
FP. AG and Thomas are publicly up for sale. FP has a chance to be sold, but the other two are too wrecked to be of any value. When these entities are eventually sold or liquidated, Mattel will take the money and continue propping up Barbie until the cash runs out. Then what? It won’t have money to prop up Barbie, Barbie won’t be able to sustain itself and will decline at a faster rate.
Look at it this way:
Mattel is like someone who has to sell blood in order to fund a bad substance addiction. At some point the blood is gone. That’s what’s happening to Mattel - it’s gettibg smaller everyday.
Case in point:
Do you really think anyone cares or even notices that it’s Barbie’s 60th? Nope - not even the core Market of 3 - 6 year old girls. They’re playing with Superhero Girls and other character dolls. They aren’t playing with Barbie because Barbie has no character - never has and never will.
Couldn’t agree more with @YcW5gOw-2kfy