Why Mattel's $1 billion-a-year Barbie business could be cracking

Tech Insider : Economy, Economy, Business

Mattel made Barbie a $1 billion-a-year brand and one of the most iconic toys in history. Now Mattel's crown jewel is facing challenges. After years of dominance, boosted by the blockbuster Barbie movie and a wave of nostalgia, sales are sliding.

From Tin Can phones to Barbie dolls and VHS, how millennials and Gen Z are bringing their childhood to their Gen Alpha kids

Tech Insider : Business, Economy, Style
Fairy figurines and Barbies
Ester Torres has given her daughter some of her old Tinker Bell toys and bought some 2000s Barbie dolls.

Ester Torres

The next trendy animal for kids' toys is … the highland cow

Tech Insider : Business, Economy
a highland cow plush toy
The highland cow, the next trendy animal for toys.

Katie Notopoulos / Business Insider

Here's what Barbie looked like the year you were born

Tech Insider : Business, Style
Squares showing various Barbie dolls through the years.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MAY 18: This combination photo shows the he toy doll Barbie in her various incarnations at Leuralla NSW toy and railway museum, as the iconic doll approaches her 50th birthhday May 18, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. First launched at the New York Toy Show in 1959, Barbie has now become the largest selling toy ever produced.

Only 58 movies have ever hit $1 billion at the box office — here they all are

Tech Insider : Business
screaming bow and arrow on fire avatar fire and ash
"Avatar: Fire & Ash."

Disney/20th Century Studios

A new report suggests 'Barbie 2' could happen — but don't get your hopes up yet

Tech Insider : Business
Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie in
Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie as Ken and Barbie in "Barbie."

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

'Glicked' is out and could be the new 'Barbenheimer.' The films would need to make over $2 billion to match it.

Tech Insider
A composite image of a woman and a man. On the left, the woman has green skin and is wearing a black dress and a pointed black hat. She's looking up. On the right is a man with curly brown hair and a short brown beard. He's wearing sleeveless leather armor with an intricately designed circular emblem on his chest and a brown tunic underneath. He also has leather cuffs around his wrists.

Adults are buying more and more kids' toys for themselves in a quest for nostalgia and escape

Tech Insider
barbie toys for sale
Adults are increasingly buying toys, fueled by nostalgia and releases like last year's Barbie movie.

: Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

Mattel apologizes for accidentally printing X-rated link on boxes for 'Wicked' dolls

Tech Insider
Mattel Wicked fashion dolls
Mattel fashion dolls appear to be temporarily unavailable as the toy manufacturer corrects a packaging error.

Mattel

A new retro Barbie flip phone aims to take smartphone-addicted teens back to simpler times

Tech Insider
The pink Barbie phone laid out next to its box, a charging cable, stickers, replaceable phone covers, and a beaded lanyard.
The new Barbie phone with no access to social media has already been launched in the UK and will be available soon in the US.

HMD

Subscribe to Barbie