Martin Capital founder and CEO Rod Martin discusses whether President Donald Trump’s tariffs will result in a new global world order on ‘Making Money.’
Barbie maker Mattel announced it is raising prices on some of its toys and “further reducing reliance on China-sourced products” as the company navigates a “volatile macro-economic environment and evolving U.S. tariff landscape.”
The California-based toymaker imports about 20% of its goods sold in the U.S. from China, according to Reuters.
It quoted Chief Financial Officer Anthony DiSilvestro as saying Monday that Mattel is expecting around $270 million in incremental costs from tariffs in 2025, but plans to offset those costs through mitigating actions.
“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.
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Barbie dolls are seen on display at the Mattel Design Center in El Segundo, Calif., in February 2024. (Reuters/Mario Anzuoni / Reuters)
The company said in a statement that, “Given the volatile macro-economic 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.”
“Although tariffs did not affect Mattel’s first quarter financial results, the company is taking mitigating actions designed to fully offset the potential incremental cost impact of tariffs on future performance,” it added.
Ticker Security Last Change Change % MAT MATTEL INC. 16.20 -0.18
-1.10%
Those actions, Mattel said, include “Accelerating diversification of its supply chain and further reducing reliance on China-sourced product” and “Where necessary, taking pricing action in its U.S. business.
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Barbie dolls are seen at the FAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan, New York City. (Reuters/Andrew Kelly / Reuters)
For example, Mattel is increasing production of its UNO card game in India, Kreiz reportedly said.
Last week, Trump, while speaking about tariffs, said “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.”
Mattel imports Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels toys from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand – three countries that were also slapped with tariffs by the Trump administration before they were paused in April for 90 days, Reuters reported.
A Barbie doll from the Olympic Barbie collection. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri / Reuters)
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Mattel is now aiming to slash imports into the U.S. from China to under 15% by next year, it added.
