Beyond Ken, Barbie has a new suitor.
New York-based investment firm Barrington Capital Group wants to take an undisclosed stake in Barbie doll owner Mattel and swoop in to create value for shareholders. According to a letter sent to Mattel Commissioner Inon Kreiz.
The activist investor said Mattel’s stock price, hovering around $18, will continue to underperform despite the huge success of the “Barbie” movie. According to the press release Published by Barington CEO James Mitarotonda.
Mitarotonda urges Mattel to pursue strategic alternatives for its Fisher-Price and American Girl brands, end what he calls “excessive stock-based compensation” and launch a $2 billion stock buyback plan. I hope that.
Mr. Barrington also called on Mr. Kreitz to separate the roles of chairman and CEO, arguing that he would “strengthen those roles.” [Mattel’s] Governance. ”
Since joining Mattel in 2018, Mr. Kreitz has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer.
Over the past five years, Mattel’s stock price has grown less than 20%.
Mitarotonda said the stock is “undervalued” and argued that with the improvements proposed by Barrington, Mattel’s stock price “could more than double” in three years.
A Mattel spokesperson told the Post that the company is reviewing Mr. Mitarotonda’s letter, adding, “Like all of our shareholders, we look forward to engaging with Mr. Barrington.”
Representatives for Barrington Capital Group did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
The letter was earlier reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Mattel’s business has soared in recent months thanks to the box office success of “Barbie.”
Before the release of the Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie as the iconic doll, the toy giant had been struggling with slow sales for more than a year and was sitting on a large inventory that had to be marked down significantly. The Post reported.
According to Mattel’s financial report, sales of Barbie doll alone in the first half of 2023 decreased by 23% compared to the same period last year.
In the week after the movie’s release alone, Kreitz told investors that sales of Barbie dolls increased by 14%.
The film, directed by Greta Gerwig, grossed nearly $1.5 billion worldwide.
The movie has become so popular that searches for the baby name “Barbie” have increased by 603% since April, when the trailer was released.
This blockbuster movie had a ripple effect on other toy manufacturers.
Jay Foreman, CEO of Basic Fun, the company that makes Tonka Trucks and Lite-Brite, told the Post after the film’s premiere that, “Toyland has a whole ecosystem of things that are being stirred up by the pink tide.” It exists,” he said.
“Our pink Care Bears are flying off the shelves and flying off the shelves three times as fast as they were four weeks ago,” Foreman raved.
Companies certainly weren’t prepared for the demand generated by the film, which has grossed more than $1.45 billion worldwide to date, according to Statista.
