Barbie

Mattel's world-class competitive intelligence system crunches sales reports, children's play-pattern studies, and even findings on where kids go online. The system picked up signals that young girls, heavily influenced by the gyrations of pop star Britney

by the Numbers">
Base Case:

Headquarters: 333 Continental Blvd., El Segundo, CA 90245
Phone: (310) 252-2000
Business: Makes and markets toys, including Barbie, Hot Wheels and Fisher-Price products.
Chief Executive Officer: Robert Eckert
Financials in 2004: $5.1 billion in sales; $573 million in profits; net profit margin of 11%.
Challenge: To maintain Barbie's place as the top-selling fashion doll in the world, and a cash cow for Mattel, amid an onslaught of doll challengers.

BASELINE GOALS:

Generate 50% of sales outside the U.S., up from 42% last year.
Cut overhead costs as a percentage of sales to between 17% and 18%, down from 20% last year.
Increase operating margin as a percentage of sales to 20%, up from 14% last year.
Continue to decrease reliance on Wal-Mart, Toys R Us and Target, which combined accounted for 46% of sales last year, down from 50% in 2002, in favor of smaller retailers and online sales.

Story Guide:
How Barbie Lost Her Groove Great product; historical franchise; huge market share; unbelievable customer affinity. And rapidly dropping popularity

The First Tentative Steps: Mattel did see signs of trouble and started to react; but not strongly enough.

A Body at Rest Stays at Rest: Mattel isn't the only company that failed to react quickly, even to clear warning signs.

Barbie's Eye for the Competition: From the beginning, the Barbie franchise was protected by intelligence gathering and analysis, which helped Mattel reinvent her for every generation of girls.

Hard Analysis Gets Answers on Soft Subjects: "Are you ready for this doll?" "Whatever." "Hello, connect me with Design...."

Mattel Upgrades IT to Crunch Better Barbie Numbers: You're not going to predict the future with a white-box desktop and an Excel file.

Recovering From a Bad Relationship: Acquiring The Learning Co. turned out not to be the best move Mattel ever made. CIO: Mattel was in a desperate time when I came on."

Barbie Fights Back: Mattel floods store shelves with new product, sues MCA and makes reviving Barbie its No. 1 corporate goal. Bratz still dominate toy-store shelves.

Barbie by the Numbers: Who's who and what's what at Mattel. Business stats paint a portrait of Barbie's creators.

Operational Details on the Barbie Situation:

Barbie's Heroes: Mattel's intelligence agents, their bosses, and who played what role in the problematic reinvention of Barbie.
Roadblock: CEOs can be the Greatest Obstacle to Success. Mattel's intelligence told it kids wanted hipper Barbies; CEO Robert Eckert and Mattel reacted slowly, and paid the price.
World Class Tool Box: Mattel uses a sophisticated set of data and intelligence tools to steer the Barbie franchise.
Near-Sighted Corporate Intelligence Can Be as Deadly as the Competition. Rival companies with successful toys put Barbie in a tough spot. Politics, social pressures and fashion changes can sink you or—as Japanese car-makers demonstrated—make you a winner.
ACNielsen: Retail Riches. Every day, ACNielsen gathers data associated with millions of retail purchases, from apples in Arizona and Barbies in Boston. It charges a bundle for the results. Is it worth it?

Barbie

Mattel's world-class competitive intelligence system crunches sales reports, children's play-pattern studies, and even findings on where kids go online. The system picked up signals that young girls, heavily influenced by the gyrations of pop star Britney

How a Lack of Agility Can Derail Busi...