In an appearance on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on Tuesday, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz cast doubt on the notion that Mattel might move its manufacturing to the United States in light of President Trump’s tariffs on Chinese goods. “We don’t see that happening,” Kreiz said. But what Mattel does see happening is rising prices in the US. During the interview, Kreiz cited three key strategies the company is deploying to mitigate the costs of Trump’s trade war, with “pricing action,” among them.
The conversation came just one day after Mattel withdrew its annual financial forecast, explaining in its first quarter earnings report that, “Given the volatile macroeconomic environment and evolving U.S. tariff landscape, it is difficult to predict consumer spending and Mattel’s U.S. sales in the remainder of the year and holiday season.” In that report, Mattel also said it had raised its cost savings target for the year from $60 million to $80 million, part of which would be achieved by cutting promotions and discounts. (In another cost-cutting move, the company also laid off more than one hundred employees from its Headquarters in El Segundo, CA, at the end of March.)
As far as its efforts to address tariffs, Kreiz said that the company is also focused on diversifying its global supply chain to reduce its reliance on China. The Mattel chief claimed in the conversation today that in two years, no single country will represent more than 25% of Mattel’s sourcing.
Outside of China, Mattel also imports products (which include Barbies, Hot Wheels, and American Girl Dolls) from Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. Those countries were also the targets of reciprocal tariffs announced by the Trump administration in early April before being paused for 90 days.
Kreiz’s “Squawk Box” appearance also comes less than a week after President Trump addressed the impact tariffs would have on the toy industry (80% of global toy production takes place in China), saying in a cabinet meeting that, “Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, you know? And maybe the two dolls will cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally.” When asked today if Christmas is at risk, Kreiz emphasized that Mattel is committed to producing a steady supply of product at a “wide range of affordable price points.” Roth analyst Eric Handler told CNBC that Mattel expects to keep between 40% and 50% of its products under $20.
The Toy Association, a trade group representing the US toy industry, has pushed hard for an exemption from Trump’s tariffs since they were announced. Kreiz expressed his support for the group’s advocacy in the interview, saying that toys are “an essential part of children’s lives.”
Kreiz came to Mattel in 2018 from Maker Studios, a content creation company that was acquired by Disney in 2016. He is credited with leading the company through a successful turnaround effort. The Barbie brand posted its best full-year sales results of all time in 2021 under Krez’s leadership.
Last week, speaking to reporters during a cabinet meeting, President Trump said that “maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” this Christmas season. He insisted that Americans will be happy to make sacrifice presents for… whatever he considers the end goal of his trade war. No one’s quite sure what that is, but maybe we’ll know by Black Friday.
