Mattel, Inc. is an American multinational toy company manufacturing and entertainment company, known for its products such as Hot Wheels, Barbie, and Monster High. It is the second largest toy manufacturing company, after The Lego Group.
History[]
Mattel was founded by a businessman named Harold "Matt" Matson and the husband and wife duo of Elliot and Ruth Handler in a garage in Los Angeles in 1945.[1] They began by selling picture frames and later dollhouse furniture out of the scraps from those frames. Matson sold his share and stake due to poor health the following year, with Ruth taking over his stake. In 1947, they had their first successful toy, a ukelele called the Uke-A-Doodle. The company was incorporated in Hawthorne, California in 1948.[2] In 1959, the Barbie doll was invented.[3] In 1968, Hot Wheels was invented.[4] In 1975, their then vice-president, Arthur S. Spear, took control of Mattel. On November 10, 2017, Hasbro had made a takeover offer for Mattel. Mattel rejected in less then a week later. In April 2018, Ynon Kreiz became the current CEO of Mattel.
Trivia[]
- They started advertising on television when it became the first sponsor of the Mickey Mouse Club television series.
- Their products include Hot Wheels, UNO!, Mega Bloks, Matchbox, Barbie, The Magic 8 Ball, and Monster High.
- Mattel also owns Fisher-Price.[5]
References[]
- ↑ https://corporate.mattel.com/history
- ↑ http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/mattel-inc-history/
- ↑ https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/2023/07/13/who-created-barbie/11746176002/
- ↑ https://www.chevrolet.com/new-roads/people/hot-wheels
- ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/08/20/mattel-fisher-price-announce-merger/0d05dda3-1d73-4386-b574-544c6f91d341/
