Business

Barbie ‘Frozen’ out; sales slide 15% in steepest drop since 2009

Barbie’s career is careening in the wrong direction.

Sales of the iconic blond doll plunged 15 percent in the most recent quarter, as the brand continues its struggle to connect with girls worldwide.

The second-quarter drop was the steepest since mid-2009 as manufacturer Mattel scrambled to clear unsold Barbies with steep discounts. Barbie sales have dipped during eight of the past 10 quarters.

Mattel partly blamed sagging demand on the popularity of the company’s competing American Girl franchise, as well as dolls licensed from Disney’s animated blockbuster “Frozen.”

Mattel shares fell 6.6 percent, to $36.46, as net income was more than cut in half to $28.3 million. Global sales tumbled 9 percent, to $1.06 billion.

“We’re working very hard to literally chase demand” for dolls based on “Frozen” characters like Princess Anna and Else, Mattel CEO Brian Stockton said. “It gets greater and greater every week.”

But because they’re licensed, the “Frozen” dolls don’t deliver as much profit.

Excluding Barbie, Mattel’s doll sales dropped 11 percent despite the inclusion of “Frozen” dolls during the second quarter.

That’s proof that declines have been frighteningly steep at Monster High, whose goth-inspired characters are based on monsters such as Dracula.

“Barbie has faced challenges before, and it’s still a $1 billion-plus global brand,” said Sean McGowan, with Needham & Co.

Mattel has hired new execs to tackle the Barbie problem, and McGowan believes Barbie now has “as good a shot at improvement as decline.”

Nevertheless, continued drops for Monster High dolls have undermined Mattel’s “portfolio approach” with dolls to minimize risk.

“If Barbie and Monster High are going down and that’s not offset by increases elsewhere, that’s where you have a problem,” McGowan said.