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Only four days after becoming the CEO of Mattel, Christopher Sinclair announced that sales of toys of its Barbie brand dropped by 16% in 2014. He promised to revitalize the brands and to deliver better value for shareholders.
On Monday, the Barbie and Hot Wheels maker said it replaced Bryan Stockton the CEO amidst failed plans to increase falling sales.
On Friday, Mattel revealed just how poor the sales were for the quarter that ended December 31 and for the full year.
Sales of Barbie brand, which have come up against fierce competition from Frozen dolls by Disney, were lower by 12% during the fourth quarter and by 16% for the full year.
Fisher-Price fell by 11% in sale for the fourth quarter and 13% on the year.
Even the famous Mattel American Girl brand suffered a drop in sales of 4% during the fourth quarter and for the year. They were down 2%.
The only bright spot was the Wheels category at Mattel including Matchbox and Hot Wheels brands, which saw an increase in sales of 2% during the last quarter of 2014.
For the three months ending in December, Mattel had net income of $149.9 million equal to 44 cents a share over 50% below the fourth quarter of last year of $369 million equal to $1.07 a share.
Mattel reported overall sales for the fourth quarter of $1.99 billion, which was 6% below that of 2013. For all of 2014, sales ended at $6.02 billion, which were 7%, lower than 2013. That included an impact that was unfavorable in currency exchange of 2%.
Sinclair has been a member of the board since 1996. He was tapped to take Stockton’s place as the interim CEO and chairman on Monday.
