In This Story
For Barbie-maker Mattel (MAT), it turns out that, under tariffs, life in plastic isn’t so fantastic. Instead, it’s more expensive — and uncertain. The toy company said Monday that it would have to increase prices for some of its U.S. products and pulled its annual financial targets amid the Trump administration’s sweeping and erratic tariffs.
To offset some of those tariff costs, Mattel said it will raise prices “where necessary” on products sold in the country and will accelerate its manufacturing shift out of China. Mattel currently imports 20% of its U.S.-sold goods from China, where President Donald Trump has imposed 145% tariffs. CEO Ynon Kreiz said the company is looking to reduce imports from China to the U.S. below 15% by 2026.
Kreiz said Monday that the company is “modeling different scenarios, but it’s hard to tell where things will land and how the tariff situation will evolve.” He added, “It’s very volatile right now.”
Mattel is the largest U.S. toy company by sales — the country represents about half of Mattel’s global toy sales — and, as well as Barbie, is home to Fisher-Price, Hot Wheels, American Girl, Polly Pocket, and Thomas & Friends.
Kreiz told investors Monday that, “under the current scenarios we are considering” in response to the president’s tariffs, he expects 40-50% of the company’s products to remain under $20.
Chief financial officer Anthony DiSilvestro said on a post-earnings call that the company expects around a $270 million hit in incremental costs from tariffs this year (beginning in the July quarter) — though “that’s before you consider any of the mitigating action.”
But it seems that Trump’s comments that dolls for girls in the U.S. might cost “a couple bucks more” are coming to fruition.
The president has, in recent days, repeatedly talked about dolls and costs associated with the toys. In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press with Kristen Welker, Trump said as part of his defense of the growing costs associated with his trade war, “I don’t think that a beautiful baby girl needs — that’s 11 years old — needs to have 30 dolls. I think they can have three dolls or four dolls, because what we were doing with China was just unbelievable.”
He doubled down on his doll comments at a Cabinet meeting, saying, “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls. Maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”
CEO Kreiz, in response, said that toys were an integral part of children’s lives and that Mattel remains committed to providing an uninterrupted supply of its products across a wide price range.
Mattel supports the Toy Association’s lobbying push for zero tariffs on toys — a position at odds with the administration’s stance. According to the association, nearly 80% of all toys sold in the U.S. are made in China.
“There’s no question that tariffs are creating disruption in the industry. Many companies have stopped production and shipping to the U.S. as a result of tariffs from China. We do support the Toy Association’s advocacy for zero tariffs on toys,” Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz told Reuters (TRI).
Despite Mattel’s higher sales in the first quarter, driven in part by toys tied to The Minecraft Movie, the company posted a wider loss and warned that rising input costs would persist.
“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,” the company said.