Do you think that love can bring us some results? Read the Mattel Inc.'s story and you'll see that each motivation might be good. Nowadays, girls can't imagine life without a Barbie doll, do you know that its producer also started in a garage?
The company started its operation in 1945 and had a headquarters in Hawthorne, California. In 1945, Harold "Matt" Matson and Elliot Handler founded their company and at the beginning they wre selling pictures frames, and later furniture for dolls. Some time later, because of his health issues, Matson sold his share to Handler and his wife - Ruth - and she replaced Matson's place in the company. The company had produced its first hit toy - ukulele - in 1947. Few years later, the company became the first year-round sponsor of the Mickey Mouse Club - TV series.
Taking Ruth to the team was a good idea. While wathicng her pre-teen daughter, playing with paper dolls, she decided that she wants to produce a doll with adult body and a wardrobe of fabric clothing. Her husband thought that parents wouldn't buy that kind of a doll for their children. She made some changes with the design and on March 9, 1959 the doll had its debut. The doll was named after their daughter, Barbara. And that's the origin of Barbie doll.
The company began to develop. During the 1960s' the company acquired a number of companies. On 18 May 1968, the company released another hit product to the market - a toy car - Hot Wheels. Their good path was continued. in 1970, Mattel formed Radnitz/Mattel Production - a joint venture film production company. Robert B Radnitz became his business partner in that company. A bit later, they entered partnership with Metra Entertainment. That company's CEO is one of the main directors for "Barbie" film series.
In 1971, Mattel purchased the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Baileys Circus for $40 million. By December 1973, they sold the circus corporation. In 1991 Mattel moved its headquarters to El Segundo, California.
In 2000, Mattel earned the first grant for Disney Princess doll. Also in 2000, Mattel signed a deal with Warner Bros to became the master license for Harry Potter toys. Their cooperation was finished in 2002. That time, Mattel granted the master license for Batman, Superman, Justice League and the Looney Tunes toys for all markets, except Asian.
In early 2010, HIT Entertainment licensed Mattel for Thomas & Freinds toys. In October 2011, Mattel bought HIT Entertainment sans share for about $680 million. In OCtober 2013, Mattel launched its new in-house film studio - Playground Productions. On 28 february, 2014, Mattel took over Mega Brands and on 16 April, 2015 announced a partnership with Quirky to crowd-source a number of products. On September 6 the same year, Mattel announced the launch of a film division, Mattel Films, that make movies based on the company's toys brands.
And now their story still goes on ...
