Special Feature - Mattel

Mattel, which counts powerhouse brands such as Barbie, Monster High, Disney Princess and more among its impressive portfolio, is celebrating the ‘Year of Dolls’ in 2023. Toy World sat down with Lisa McKnight, EVP, Global Head of Barbie & Dolls Portfolio at Mattel, Inc., to chat about everything that’s in store in the months ahead.

“We couldn’t be more excited about 2023,” Lisa told us over lunch at the Mattel stand in Nuremberg back in February. The place is absolutely heaving: it’s almost hard to hear what Lisa has to say above the hubbub of visitors, all vying enthusiastically for a piece of the company’s impressive doll action.

As far as Mattel is concerned, it has the doll portfolio to beat. That’s not to say its command of the space is to the detriment of others – indeed, noting that the Dolls category lost some ground last year, Lisa feels strongly that Mattel’s Year of Dolls, and all that comes with it, will benefit everyone in the space by driving category growth and boosting consumer awareness of, and demand for, dolls.

“What makes 2023 so unprecedented is the theatrical support we’ve got in place,” Lisa explains. “Typically, this is an area you see fuelling categories such as Action Figures. But dolls? Not so much.”

The Barbie movie, which arrives in UK cinemas in July, is not just one of the Mattel’s biggest moments of the year –it’s one of 2023’s biggest film releases full stop. Directed by Greta Gerwig and based on a script she wrote with Noah Baumbach, the cast includes Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, as well as Will Ferrell, Issa Rae, Kate McKinnon, Simu Liu, Michael Cera, America Ferrera, Ncuti Gatwa, Emerald Fennell, Rhea Perlman and Kingsley Ben- Adir. The film is a smart, razor sharp take on the brand and is set to accelerate the franchise far beyond toys into beauty, apparel, home décor and other adult lifestyle products.

“The movie will bring us more adult fans, but we’re also skewing much younger with the introduction of My First Barbie,” adds Lisa. “We successfully partnered with Little People last year on a Barbie Dreamhouse play set for preschoolers, so we knew the audience was there and hungry for a Barbie doll range suitable for kids of that age. My First Barbie caters to this demand with large accessories, Velcro fashions, a larger, softer body and closed hands for frustration-free dressing.”

Away from Barbie and the Barbie movie, there’s a raft of Disney releases to look forward to this year. A live action The Little Mermaid, starring Halle Bailey, modernises the classic tale with new songs and a relatable plot that centres on finding one’s purpose and place in the world. Peter Pan and Wendy hit the big screen at the end of April. And on top of all this, there’s the hugely toyetic Trolls 3 from Universal Pictures, which Lisa describes as a ‘doll designer’s dream’. Added up, it’s clear to see why the Mattel team is fired up about this year.

Of course, it’s not all about the glitz and glamour of the big screen: Mattel’s new feature-length Monster High TV-movie (the sequel to October 2022’s Monster High The Movie), is slated to arrive on Nickelodeon and Paramount+ in November following the official UK brand relaunch. Adult fans of Monster High – known as ‘alumni’ to Mattel –were treated to a tight range of collector items in autumn of last year, while the core toy range, aimed at ‘students’ (child fans) is now rolling out globally and will be present in all target territories by the end of 2023.

“Monster High’s story and brand purpose has never been more relevant: it’s all about inclusivity and celebrating what makes you unique,” Lisa says. “It’s also very different from Barbie and Disney Princess. We have a number of really exciting brands that complement rather than cannibalise each other, cover a variety of thematics and play patterns, and reach a lot of kids. We’re innovating within all our own-IP. Setting aside the juggernaut theatrical calendar for this year, Polly Pocket continues to perform well thanks to strong innovation and surging demand for her micro-scale. Polly is also moving into collector with a range of products for grown-ups that tap into 80s nostalgia.”

Mattel has secured the Friends licence for this range, recreating the iconic Central Perk coffee shop from the show as a Polly Pocket compact complete with microscale versions of Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Joey and Monica.

Lisa says Mattel’s retail partners are hugely engaged with what’s coming through for this year, and that they appreciate the way the company’s product range appeals to a wide variety of consumers across the generations. Toy launches and tentpole activations are also spread nicely throughout the year, meaning partners needn’t choose one brand or property over another: each is being given its moment to shine, and each retailer is therefore being given its moment to capitalise on demand by creating space in-store and on-shelf to make the most of a full product assortment.

“The first My Little Mermaid toy release hits shelves at the end of May, then it’s July for Barbie, then end of November for Trolls 3,” Lisa explains. “Going back to what I said earlier, this approach is good for the Dolls category and the industry as a whole. There will be a lot of shoppers out there this year looking for dolls, and if Mattel and other leaders in the space can provide them, then everyone – from the manufacturers right through to the end consumer, the child-benefits."