Mattel Toys Have an Edge on Hasbro’s This Christmas
Plus: The bat bros who’ve captured the eyes of youth baseball, and a possible way out of college football’s messes.
Barbie demand has been down this year.
Photographer: Elijah Nouvelage/BloombergNext week is Halloween, but you can forgive the big toy companies for looking past that. When they reported their earnings this week, Thomas Buckley writes, investors immediately sought clues about what items will be on letters to Santa this year. Plus: Meet the Baseball Bat Bros. who are driving kids’ equipment choices, and learn why the NCAA’s NIL problems might require borrowing a solution from baseball. If this email was forwarded to you, click here to sign up.
The past two years have been trying for the world’s largest toy companies. Industry leaders Hasbro Inc. and Mattel Inc. have contended with a sharp slowdown in sales of G.I. Joe action figures, Fisher-Price’s Clack & Quack Goose and the like. Parents desperately loaded up on toys during the Covid-19 pandemic to keep their children occupied at home, buoying the earnings and market values of the toy sellers. Then demand waned as families reemerged and redirected their spending toward experiences such as overseas travel and Taylor Swift concerts.