This is 100% true. Mattel came to FP and drained all of the creativity away. Slow at first, when our office was more autonomous - then as the Mattel culture began to infiltrate our office, this doomed the sense of freedom we once had. Before Mattel took over the NYC friends office, it was still know as Tyco preschool. Man, what a great place that was to work. Brimming with creativity, energy and fun. Remember fun? I have to remind myself of that daily now since everything is so stale and corporate. Seriously. When Mattel first took over FP, we were told that our office would still be able to operate on our own. Mattel would be hands off. As a matter of face, the NYC office was looked upon as a shining example of how toy brands should operate and our model for efficiency while still firing on all creative cylinders. As Mattel initiatives began to creep their way into our office, It began the slow erosion of what made our office successful. Such a shame. I always wonder how certain folks at Mattel are even in the TOY industry. If your interest leans towards on cosmetics, beauty or fashion - chances are that preschool toys are not the right fit for you. If you get more excited about talking about your gucci clothes or manicures than toys - this is a red flag. We've got way too many of these types at the moment. We need people who are truly PASSIONATE about toys. Again, this speaks to the lack of culture. If you don't know how to have fun, how can you or your team create fun? This should be a job requirement at Mattel!! You got to talk the talk, walk the walk...just play with toys!!
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We've got one of those Gucci types in NYC - but is more of a self described "gucci & granola" type though - what a cackling fool & a know nothing.....just a LOT of hot air. hopefully they are gone with the next layoff....
I was let go in the last layoff last March. After nearly twelve years where the creativity of so many people was off the charts because they were given creative freedom to try and fail, but then to learn without being fired or flogged. I was in the NYC office, and every year we put up numbers! Every year we put out solid, innovative and fun products with amazing design and very cool packaging that let the product speak for itself on shelf. I do not miss Mattel/FP at all. My last two years there under Susie Lecker and the Marketing Ass Clowns she herded together was a dark period in my creative life. I feel bad for the most recently laid off and for those who are left to clean up the mess. But the bottom line is if your guiding lights are Costing Engineers and a PLM system so arcane and rigid it stifles change, creativity and is purely there to mitigate risk taking - you don't have much. And P.S. You need more actual workers and doers than managers, VPs, SVPs, EVPs and 1.5 million dollar consultants. RIP Mattel/FP/HiT. sad to see you go?..
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Susie Lecker is the company hot potato - she gets "promoted" office to office as if she's some corporate answer to reviving a brand or team. I have spent many years under her reign, and honestly don't know what her "value add" is. Besides Constantly quoting her successes at monster high and Polly pocket as is that is some kind of subtle reminder of why she's been given the keys to the castle. It gets scarier and scarier every year when people like this become the superstars of Mattel - yet try finding one person that has any kind of constructive exchange with her. Any one that does is being disingenuous.
Don't worry about her. El Segundo couldn't wait to get rid of her when she thought she should be SVP. She went running back to Neil - remember, Neil promoted her - put the blame where it lies. I'm sure walker and team couldn't hide their excitement when she left to go back to Canada to mega.
When you're as unkind as some, you burn bridges. There are no bridges for her left in ES or FP. This is her last ride. Reap what you sow.
Actually, Neil fought for years for FP for the wrong things. Defending a financial model for FP that encouraged little innovation because if the bubble mower was unchanged they got the same price from the factory. Same stale line and finally factory labor and resin prices rose and the FP model doesn't work and they're priced out of the market.
FP was protected for too long on the wrong things. Substandard marketing folks. Inability to launch internationally and sustain. David all mark and his miserable reign of nothingness. While Mattel may have been part of this, it's not all their fault. Own up to it.
Believe me I'm no fan of Susie locker, but cheap shots like
That belittle what this website is all
About. Besides it makes you no better than her - she is the ultimate mean girl. See? that's not a cheap shot, that's the truth.
Susie Lecker was the absolute worst in NYC. Waddling around like her shit didn't stink the woman did absolutely nothing but talk out of her extra wide ass.
Don't worry Susie Lecker will drive the final stake into Mega. She will cruise out of there just as the numbers start turning down to claim her successful leadership then head back to CA as she has told many people. She is only looking to stake her claim in an another office to justify her executive worth. Meanwhile Mega will have already suffered the pillaging effect of Mattel with morale in the garbage, margins pushed to the extreme at the cost of the toy and an uncertain future.
And now they're working on killing Mega as fast as they can.
I'm in the NYC 8 years now, survived this layoff but yes, the climate has changed considerably and not for the better. In the past few years I've seen many great passionate employees shown the door and I still find it baffling that the marketing team goes by unscathed.
Agreed: Passionless, non-toy bean counters at the top were the end of Mattel and its affiliates. The decline and death of this company will be written about and studied as a textbook example of how to destroy a creative company. The posts here are valuable documentation, we are real-time witnesses to the demise of a once-great corporation. Keep 'em coming.
You hit the nail on the head of what happened in the NYC office
We are still passionate about paying out executive bonsues