Thread regarding Mattel Inc. layoffs

If anyone can fix AG, it's RD.

Maybe we get bought out and all Problems get away

Such a shame. There is so much wrong with the company now, it'll never turn around. Owning an AG used to be an experience. Its now a frustration. Whether its because of the cost cutting measure to produce a doll that is not up to standards, or the personal shopping removed and also in store theatres, the failure that the 360 system brought only causing a sh– ton of customer frustration, the lack of interest I watched from the leaders in actually earning their pay versus gossiping all day- its all done. I once loved being part of the team, but am now relieved to have been removed.

Any chance we will be sold off? Maybe that is why they came to visit? Please sell us so we can have a chance.

That would be the best Thing for all of us

The leadership at AG has been terrible since EB left. In the past 5 years we've had 5 leadership changes from JM to JC to KD to Accenture and now to JC. Instead of the AG leader reporting directly to the CEO KD was 4 levels removed from the CEO. We also paid over $10M to Accenture for doing absolutely nothing. Everybody who understood AG and had knowledge of our unique DTC business has been fired from the company. During this time we've had numerous cost cutting initiatives under 4 different CEO's. So many of our employees were laid off and those of us remaining are doing the jobs of 4 people. Our premium products were cost reduced at the same time our marketing and advertising budgets were slashed. Unfortunately at this time private label competition was taking off. The answer from our senile CEO at the time was to cheapen our premium brand and sell our product at Kohl's and Costco. And to add further insult our current CEO and COO came to visit us a few weeks ago and arrived in the corporate jet while telling us all we must work harder than ever and to be diligent in our cost savings. Any chance we will be sold off? Maybe that is why they came to visit? Please sell us so we can have a chance.

Our CFO said in a meeting the reason for the decline at AG must be due to the managers at the AG stores. They are not doing enough to get foot traffic into the stores. He suggested they get sign spinners or maybe a big inflatable tube man. He said it worked wonders for the Sprint stores when he worked there. Sadly this is a true story.

But @101OnC8n-6bai points out something important. It's not that the first step in fixing a problem is taking accountability for it, it's understanding what the problem/s is/are.

Define "problem". Define "fix". What does "success" look like? Can Coke triple its revenues with good marketing? Apple has the best marketing in the business, still sells fewer iPhones than Andriod. There are more Hondas on the road in the US than BMWs, is that a failure of marketing on BMW's part? Wanting to think that marketing can fix AG's issues is vastly underestimating the problems AG faces, but maybe an easier pill to swallow. The answers lie in innovation, product strategy, new experiences, and understanding how customers make purchase decisions. Sometimes it seems like AG is less trying to save the brand, and more trying to preserve a system of production that isn't working anymore.

Good Marketing can. AG used to be proactive. They knew what was happening in the in the industry before it happened. Now they are reacting or responding as another poster put it. And all I hear is blame blame blame. It’s the Frozen franchise. It’s mobile devices. Girls aren’t playing with dolls anymore! The first step in fixing a protists taking accountability for it.

Also, PR’s AG characters weren’t innocent children. They were self-possessed girls dealing with difficult situations in challenging historical times. They were inspirational to many (now) young women who still use them as benchmarks for their childhood and points of comparison with peers.
The Truly Me dolls are trendy, but that has always been the point. The historical dolls are largely unchanged. Some of the marketing has clearly made an effort to locate AGs purpose in the contemporary feminist dialogue, but can you blame them?
I think OP’s original question is interesting, but ultimately I can’t make the connection between “plunking down big bucks “ and innocent girlhood. If it were only so easy. One of my biggest disappointments is watching people behave as though marketing can fix a problem that has been caused by a huge shift in external factors.

I didn't come here for in depth analysis of the luxury handbag market, I agree with the OP.

Let’s go with the purse thing for a minute.......the purse market is $170 billion. Michael Kors revenue is $5billion (and dying.) let’s be generous and assume that MK purses represent $3mm. That’s less than 2% of the market. The 18” doll market is about $1 billion. 2% of that is $20 MM. let’s give AG first-to-market advantage and make that 10x. That’s $200MM.

The comparison to purses is ridiculous. While we're moving toward being a society where one no longer has to carry cash or plastic, purses still serve a basic function of carrying everything else a woman (or man) needs. Additionally, women are going to take care of an expensive purse.

Kids aren't playing with dolls like they used to... They've been replaced with phones, tablets, and gaming systems.

The age of AG's average customer used to be something like 6 or 7, and kids typically played with dolls until around the age of 12.. More recently the average age has been more like 3-4, and they're not hanging on to these kids as customers for nearly as long.

As a parent of 2 girls, I wouldn't pay for an AG doll for a tot that isn't going to take care of it... Even as a former employee with a favorable view of the brand.

You think a girl who goes to Space Camp is a feminist activist? You should probably stick to your discipline.

Yes but you are being fooled by scale. Walmart and Target are huge in comparison to Michael Kors. It's not that AG can't command higher prices from some people. The question is how many.

Purses at Walmart and Target are cheap, doesn't mean the Michael Kors store at the isn't aways crazy busy. Its a faliure to command the high price, not the price itself. Many American Girl shoppers wouldn't be caught dead shopping at a Wal-Mart.

It's a price/value issue. All of the things AG has done have been in response to the decline which started years ago. People still love AG, they just aren't the only choice now for kids who want to play with 18" dolls and the competition is MUCH less expensive.

It has a lot to deal with cost reduction.

Thinking about that at 8:30 on a Friday night? Preparing us for something next week or just in need of a life?

Yes, I was thinking about that at 8:30 on a Friday night and, yes, I do have a life.
My brain doesn’t shut down on weekends because it’s some presumed “party time” and I got to hit the bars, or whatever else it is you do that apparently requires your mind to clock out on Fridays. Maybe you get your ecstasy fix and mindlessly wave a light stick to pulsating music come Friday nights? Or watch back to back episodes of Keeping Up With The Kardashians in a zombie state.
I, on the other hand, still process coherent thoughts throughout the weekends, much to your apparent disproval.

@101OnC8n-kzx I've been thinking about it for a while now bro.

My opinion is that part of the problem is the way AG is marketing the products. They STILL have the wholesome historical characters that Pleasant Rowland first created and consumers fell in love with. The characters still have historically accurate books and accessories at their launch which are carefully researched by AG. But for some reason, the company is not bringing attention to the wholesome, educational products–even cutting the product line. You can only buy a nightgown for many of these dolls–not the wardrobe that was available in the past. Maybe the demand is just not there? I think they slit their throats when they introduced the BeForever line, which was so drastically different than the original dolls. But they're not even trying. If you go to the fb page right now, all they have promoted in the past few weeks is contemporary products–dolls, bowling, cell phones, video games. The company is in dire trouble.

Thinking about that at 8:30 on a Friday night? Preparing us for something next week or just in need of a life?