Barbie’s dream house turned into a nightmare this Christmas.
Sales of Mattel’s leggy, blonde doll plunged 13 percent worldwide during the crucial fourth quarter, stoking worries that Barbie is losing her appeal as she enters her fifth decade in the toy aisle.
Mattel shares on Friday tumbled 12 percent to $37.84.
“The reality is we just didn’t sell enough Barbie dolls,” Mattel CEO Brian Stockton told analysts Friday.
Barbie’s holiday flop comes on top of a 4-percent decline a year earlier that likewise had stoked fears about the brand’s long-term prospects.
Last year, Mattel noted that the drop in Barbie demand was offset by the growth of its Monster High franchise, whose goth-inspired characters sport black lipstick and names like “Sarah Screams” and “Cat Tastrophe.”
In the fourth quarter, Monster High failed to make Mattel’s list of top performers, though it drove increases for the full year.
Instead, the El Segundo, Calif.-based company highlighted holiday upticks for its Disney Princess dolls and its pricier American Girl brand, whose sales rose 12 percent collectively.
Elsewhere, however, other key Mattel brands showed weakness, including Fisher-Price, Hot Wheels, Matchbox and Tyco race cars.
Companywide, fourth-quarter sales fell 6.3 percent to $2.11 billion.