Just amazing... failure does pay big time
Mattel to Pay Former Executive $5.43 Mln in Severance
Bloomberg
Mattel Inc. agreed to pay the former head of the Barbie business $5.43 million to leave the company after sales for the doll fell sharply during his tenure.
Matthew Bousquette, who ran the Barbie and Hot Wheels lines, is receiving three times his annual salary and a $750,000-a-year job as a consultant to Mattel, the company said in a regulatory filing today.
Barbie sales dropped for two straight years under Bousquette as the brand struggled to compete with more popular dolls such as Bratz. In October, Mattel, the world’s largest toymaker, folded Bousquette’s division into its Fisher-Price unit.
Bousquette, who had been with Mattel for 17 years, will also receive health-care benefits for another two years or until he finds another job, the El Segundo, California-based company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He also held options on about 2 million Mattel shares as of Dec. 15, which may be exercised through March, according to the filing.
Shares of Mattel rose 1 cent to $16.01 at 12:17 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They are headed for their first annual decline in six years and have fallen 18 percent in 2005.
Mattel spokeswoman Lisa Marie Bongiovanni didn’t immediately return a call requesting comment.
Bratz Dolls
Mattel’s third-quarter profit dropped 12 percent after sales of Barbie, introduced in 1959, plunged 18 percent as girls seek multicultural Bratz dolls that wear edgier fashions and have names such as Jade and Yasmin.
Chief Executive Officer Robert Eckert hasn’t been able to reverse the decline with fantasy-themed Fairytopia dolls for younger girls and an animated movie on DVD featuring the voice of actress Lindsay Lohan as part of its My Scene line for teens.
Profit has fallen in four of the past seven quarters, and Mattel reported a second-period loss. Fourth-quarter and annual net income is expected to drop, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Sales of Bratz dolls and related licensed merchandise this holiday season picked up relative to Barbie sales, based on discussions with 40 Wal-Mart Stores Inc. toy department managers and industry sources, JPMorgan Chase & Co. analyst Dean Gianoukos wrote in a Dec. 20 report. Gianoukos, who is based in New York, rates Mattel "neutral."
Overall U.S. toy sales are likely headed for their third consecutive annual drop as children put aside action figures and board games in favor of video games and other electronic gadgets. Toy sales will likely fall at least two per cent this year, Piper Jaffray & Co. analyst Anthony Gikas wrote in a Dec. 8 report. Gikas, based in Minneapolis, rates Mattel "market perform."
© 2005
Thursday, December 29, 2005
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