MAT Mattel Inc

By Anne Steele 

Kohl's Corp. will begin carrying some of Mattel Inc.'s American Girl products in stores this holiday season, further extending the iconic doll brand's reach.

The partnership puts 2016 Girl of the Year Lea products in more than 1,100 Kohl's stores across the country starting Oct. 3. The merchandise -- ranging in price from $24 for accessories to $120 for the doll and book -- will remain there only though the end of the year, or until it sells out.

Wellie Wishers, American Girl's newest -- and lower priced -- doll line designed for girls ages 5 to 7 years, will also be added to Kohl's shelves and remain there even after the year is up.

Last week, Mattel said it would begin selling its American Girl products in select Toys "R" Us Inc. locations, extending for the first time the premium brand's reach beyond its specialty stores. That partnership, which multiplies the brands store base nearly sixfold, will make Toys "R" Us the only U.S.-based retailer to feature American Girl shop-in-shops in some stores. The Wellie Wishers product line was slated to begin hitting Toys "R" Us shelves last Sunday and American Girl shop-in-shops are due in 97 stores across the country in late October.

Previously, American Girl products were only available in 20 proprietary U.S. stores and online.

Sales of Mattel's American Girl brand fell 8% in 2015. In the most recent quarter ended in June, revenue from those products slid 19% year-over-year. The company blamed the quarterly decline on its Truly Me line of contemporary 18-inch dolls, doll outfits and accessories and less promotional activity, but noted "encouraging early response" to Wellie Wishers.

At the time, Jefferies analyst Trevor Young said it is uncertain whether the Toys "R" Us move would cause American Girl to become more mass market versus a premium offering, "but we believe the expanded distribution would more than offset potential margin pressures."

Mattel has been trying to reverse slumps in a few of its girls brands, including American Girl as part of a broader turnaround being orchestrated by Chief Executive Christopher Sinclair and his new management team. Together, they are trying to shake off a bureaucratic culture that they say stifled creativity and crippled sales in the years before they took on their current roles in early 2015.

Management had pledged to begin turning the American Girl brand around by year-end.

Kohl's, meanwhile, like other retailers, has been struggling with muted sales, hurt by dwindling store traffic, competition from discount retailers and cautious consumer spending. Last fall, it unveiled a multiyear plan to return to growth that included stocking more national brands, offering more compelling savings, tailoring merchandise to local tastes and better targeting promotions. The plan came as the retailer has been considering going private or breaking up, The Wall Street Journal reported in January.

Write to Anne Steele at Anne.Steele@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 08, 2016 08:43 ET (12:43 GMT)

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jun 2024 até Jul 2024

Mattel (NASDAQ:MAT)
Gráfico Histórico do Ativo
De Jul 2023 até Jul 2024