The commercial lease was broken and the plan is to relocate D&D to HK except for a tiny R&D hit squad in ES. The "Handler Team Center" didn't last too long.
17 replies (most recent on top)
the last poster just summed up mattel as a whole: "move along folks (in the toy aisle), nothing to see here."
Obviously this years-old post was nothing but wishful thinking on some troll's part. Move along folks, nothing to see here.
The toy business doesn't need "cutting edge" technology - it never works and is wasted on what is a disposable hard goods industry. Kids play with toys for 20 minutes - not hours upon hours.
With today's digital assets from licensors (and licensed toys is the growing sector) being so robust, anyone with a CAD program and access to a vendor in China can make good toys. They only have to be good-enough, not great because their lifespan is so limited. The biggest toys and brands in recent memories don't rely on "cutting edge" technology:
Shopkins - little rubber figures
Hatchimals - time released motor
Disney Princesses and Frozen - based on content driven media
PlayDoh - Playsets and figural play patters
Star Wars - based on content driven theatrical releases
China does it better because they are cheaper, don't take ridiculous vacations and breaks, don't complain and get $h!+ done fast. That's all the toy business ever has to be because it's a fashion/fad business.
Mattel might still have locations around the world but lets face it, all of the cutting edge innovation is coming from MOA now. Don't deny it either. It certainly isn't coming out of EA, NYC, or ES.
I'm so happy that you're all so miserable! You deserve it - each and everyone of you in the "Design Crapper". If you had actually done your job - provide innovation and true design - this would never have happened. You only have yourselves to blame.
Mattel is the only Fortune 500 CPG company to still be based in LA. All others left for cheaper areas decades ago. All of Mattel's problems now are being caused by decisions that they made or failed to make 10+ years ago.
Mattel gets to write off the cost of breaking the lease so it's not an expense item. No matter what the labor rates are in China, they will always be less than in the US because US workers are LAZY. When Mattel designers actually get up every day, work more than 8 hours, work through lunch, break a sweat and.............................wait for it..........................................actually produce something that is worth money, then China won't be a threat. In today's day and age, licensors give great input for characters that they can simply send it to anyone with a CAD program and get toys. Why put up with the complaining, entitlement and immature behavior when you can get the same quality of design for a fraction of the price?!
I can't wait to get a front row seat to watch this behemoth of a waste project get closed. I want to film the auction of the life-size hotwheels (another big waste of money).
What happened here?
Labor rates might be higher in HK but I do not believe that they receive medical benefits there.
This would be a real shock. I'm not sure if I can believe they'd move all of design and development to the China/HK offices. The labor rates there just don't justify it. How do you know they are paying now to get out of their lease?
Well, they've already wasted $80+ million on PLM with nothing to show, so another $17 million to break the DC lease is chump change.
How much money Mattel has to pay to break that lease?
Not possible. Please stop making up crazy rumors just for shock value. You're diluting the legitimacy of the valid rumors shared here. People should start citing their sources instead of just posting wild stuff pulled out of their ass.
Or would Mattel just relocate its worldwide headquarters and consolidate other offices to a cheaper place? Look at Toyota, pulling out of Torrance and moving to Plano Texas. They own that town. I thought that was impossible when I heard it, but it happened. And they're MAKING money! That's a great example of long-range planning. Mattel can't see past the next shareholder update.
What's happening with the other locations? I'm waiting for the NY & EA divisions to come out west after yet another culling.
It would make you sick to learn how much money Mattel has to pay to break that lease. Plus, they lose all the remodeling money they just spent. Business-wise, it makes sense as a one-time charge, the investors look the other way for a year. But it's costing people's jobs, now and in future cutbacks.
So all that will remain in ES is the suits in the tower? The tower is like a Mattel package: huge flat face from one angle, but no depth, no volume to it. A fitting tribute to the shallow soul of Mattel. How could this have all fallen apart so quickly?
That I cannot believe. HK/China is constantly proving their inability to design and innovate. They can't even copy properly. If Mattel moves everything overseas then all is lost. What's your source of information, #81943?