Mattel and Hasbro Expect More Toy Price Hikes

The toy sector is in turn affected by shortages, and these are likely to be felt by consumers at Christmas.

In the aftermath of the presentation of promising quarterly results, the two giants Hasbro and Mattel said they expected price increases to come on their toy lines.

A warning that echoes the announcements of the director of the French flagship JouéClub earlier this month.

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The cause is supply problems encountered by manufacturers. Supplying largely from China, they find themselves helpless in the face of the closure of ports and the shortage of containers. That's what Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz explained to the BBC this week. “

We will be looking at increasing prices in the second half [of] the year.

We have not defined [which products will be affected], but it is in response to certain inflationary pressures

, ”he said. The giant will not be the only one to move in this direction, justified Ynon Kreiz: “

we are not the only ones to have done it. In our industry, everyone has done it and no one is surprised

”.

Same story with Hasbro.

On CNBC, the managing director of Mattel's competitor, Brian Goldner, clarified that "

ocean freight is on average four times more expensive than it was a year ago

."

These adjustments are therefore necessary to meet the objectives set by the company.

“

This allows us to cover our costs, maintain our gross margin and ensure that we can achieve an operating profit margin of 15% or more, which is our target for the year,

” he stressed. .

Read also: Mattel sales boosted by small cars and dolls

The businessman also took the opportunity to communicate his mistrust of the Delta variant, the spread of which is likely to affect the production of toys in the months to come. “

We have to be vigilant and careful. It is clear that we will have to devote more time to it in the next two months

”.

Mattel saw a strong increase in sales, up 40% from the same period last year.

This reached $ 1.03 billion, above the 868 million expected by analysts.

These sales are particularly boosted by the particularly good results of Hot Wheels cars or Cars took off 68% while those of these famous Barbie dolls jumped 51%.

Hasbro, for its part, saw its turnover take off 54% in the second quarter thanks in particular to the success of Magic and Dungeons & Dragons cards and the rebound in its audiovisual activities.

These figures are still to be taken with a grain of salt because the two companies are still taking heavy losses, amounting to $ 6 million for Mattel.