Yahoo Finance Hasbro CEO: Billion-dollar 'Barbie' proves 'how vital the category is'
There's still plenty of play to go around for the Transformers, Furby, and Monopoly maker.
Hasbro (HAS) CEO Chris Cocks has a big idea: This holiday season will be just fine for the maker of Transformer toys and Monopoly despite "Barbie" movie mania.
"I think, if anything, that movie [Barbie] isn't sucking the oxygen out of the [toy] category," Cocks told Yahoo Finance Live (video above) in an exclusive interview. "It's proving how vital the category is and how important the IP is."
Moviegoers have agreed.
Mattel's (MAT) "Barbie" live-action PG-13 flick headlined by Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken continues to clean up at the box office.
About three weeks into its theatrical release, Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster has hauled in a mind-blowing $1 billion-plus at the global box office, Warner Bros. said.
Mattel has positioned itself to win royally this coming holiday season from eye-popping interest in all things Barbie.
The toymaker has licensed the Barbie name to merchandise that is sprouting up everywhere.
For instance, there is a Barbie apparel deal with specialty retailer Gap (GPS). The product line ranges from pink Barbie hoodies to pink pet clothing.
Since the release in late July, Mattel has introduced a host of new dolls inspired by the movie. One doll in particular that is garnering a lot of attention is Weird Barbie, played in the movie by Kate McKinnon.
The steady stream of movie-inspired toys is expected to continue, experts say.
"We have captured a cultural moment," Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz told Yahoo Finance Live following the company's earnings last week.
That said, both Mattel and Hasbro have taken cautious stances with respect to their holiday season outlooks as consumers continue to shop the toy category cautiously due to rounds of price hikes.
Mattel only reaffirmed its full-year profit outlook last week despite its success with "Barbie".
Kreiz tells us he expects strong demand for Barbie-related toys for the holidays but is approaching the outlook with cautious optimism based on consumer shopping patterns.
As for Hasbro, the company reiterated that it sees sales at its consumer products business — aka toys — to be down by a mid-single-digit percentage this year. The company forecasts "stabilizing" demand trends later this year and "modest" sales growth in the final two quarters.
Cocks thinks he can take on Mattel's Barbie for the holidays with the reintroduction of the iconic Furby, Twister Air, and toys inspired by the "Transformers: Rise of the Beasts" and "Spider-man: Across the Spider-Verse" movies.
"I give my congratulations to Mattel," Cocks said. "I think they really did a fantastic job with that movie and particularly the marketing campaign around it."
Brian Sozzi is Yahoo Finance's Executive Editor. Follow Sozzi on Twitter @BrianSozzi and on LinkedIn. Tips on deals, mergers, activist situations, or anything else? Email brian.sozzi@yahoofinance.com.
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