Mattel's Commitment to Ethics
International Sales
According to Chief Executive Jill Barad, Mattel, Inc. plans to double its international sales over the next five years as part of a new strategy aimed at worldwide growth. In an interview at the September 1997 American International Toy Fair in New York, Ms. Barad disclosed that the strategy includes producing toys for individual foreign markets rather than simply adapting the U.S. products. In addition, the company’s management structure will focus more aggressively on overseas sales and will link bonus incentives for employees to international growth targets.
These changes and new strategy followed a six-month study of Mattel by Boston Consulting Group to determine key markets and product areas for growth. The study identified a potential $6 billion in additional sales growth over the next five years for Mattel by increasing the size of the toy market and Mattel’s market share. Two-thirds of that growth should come from Japan and Europe, and less than a quarter from the U.S. and Latin America.