Mattel Changes Head of Barbie Business
February 12 2016 - 04:10PM
Dow Jones News
Mattel Inc. has named Lisa McKnight, a veteran marketer at the
toy maker, to oversee its Barbie business at a time when sales of
the iconic doll have turned a corner after years of struggles.
Ms. McKnight is replacing Evelyn Mazzocco, a veteran Mattel
designer who has run the global Barbie business since 2014. Last
month, Ms. Mazzocco was part of an announcement that Mattel was
adding new body shapes to Barbie.
The leadership change was announced internally last week. A
Mattel spokesman said Ms. Mazzocco is still with Mattel but
declined to discuss her role. Ms. Mazzocco decline to comment.
Barbie has gone through a dramatic remake over the past two
years, producing the most diverse lineup that the doll has had in
its more than 57-year history. Mattel added more skin tones, eye
shapes and hair styles last year. In January, the company said it
would start selling three new body types—petite, tall and
curvy.
The changes are starting to have an effect. Mattel reported that
Barbie sales rose slightly to $328 million in the fourth-quarter,
breaking a streak of eight straight periods of declines. For the
year, Barbie sales fell 10% to $906 million, hurt by a loss of
shelf space and unfavorable foreign-exchange rates.
Barbie still faces challenges in the doll aisle. Mattel recently
lost the coveted license for Walt Disney Co.'s princess and Frozen
dolls to rival Hasbro Inc., leaving a more than $400 million sales
hole to plug. Mattel plans to fill that with higher sales of its
core brands, as well as growing sales of smaller licenses like DC
Super Hero Girls, a line of action figures like Supergirl and
Wonder Woman.
Ms. McKnight has recently been running the company's Monster
High doll business and previously led marketing for Mattel's North
America business. She has also performed marketing duties
specifically for the Barbie business.
"Our continuing goal is to ensure we have the right talent at
every level, at the right time, to support our brands and our
business," the Mattel spokesman said.
Ms. Mazzocco took over Barbie shortly after Richard Dickson, a
former company executive, returned to Mattel to try to refresh the
creative side of the toy maker.
Mr. Dickson, who is now president and chief operating officer,
and CEO Chris Sinclair are undertaking a massive turnaround at
Mattel, trying to stoke sales as well as improving a culture that
has been bogged down by bureaucracy. The two have also remade
Mattel's executive ranks, with more than half of all leadership
positions either replaced or reassigned over the last year.
Write to Paul Ziobro at Paul.Ziobro@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 12, 2016 15:55 ET (20:55 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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