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96-567: Mattel, Inc. ( / m ə ˈ t ɛ l / mə- TEL ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth and Elliot Handler in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California . Mattel has a presence in 35 countries and territories; its products are sold in more than 150 countries. It

192-741: A $ 2.3 million fine to the Consumer Products Safety Commission for marketing, importing and selling non-compliant toys. Mattel was noted for its crisis response by several newspaper publications, including PRWeek , the Los Angeles Times , Fortune and Business Management. On June 11, 2010, Mattel launched Monster High , a fashion doll line featuring the teenage children of famous and well-known monsters like Dracula , Frankenstein , Cleopatra , Gorgon , Werewolf , and The Mummy . It led to popularity and cult following success which Mattel translated into two spin-offs, each with

288-460: A Shelby Super Snake in the 1968 and 1969 seasons, powered by a Ford engine instead of the ubiquitous Chrysler Hemi. When Ford discontinued the program, Prudhomme went into the "Mongoose and Snake" phase of his career. Prudhomme was known for his yellow 1970 Plymouth Barracuda in which he match raced Tom McEwen in his red 1970 Plymouth Duster , named Mongoose . Both drivers gained wider public attention from Mattel 's "Hot Wheels" toy versions of

384-613: A bankruptcy proceeding for a sum worth $ 21 million. On March 30, 2016, Mattel formed a "senior head" division named Mattel Creations to centralize its multi-platform content output. In the process, the production teams and operations of Mattel Playground Productions, HIT Entertainment and the American Girl content creation team in Middleton, Wisconsin were absorbed into Creations the following day. On July 19, 2016, NBCUniversal announced Mattel's license acquisition to produce toys based on

480-766: A basis in a national ethos , being ultimate without a specific nationhood, and that this lack of an ethos appears in their ways of operating as they enter into contracts with countries that have low human rights or environmental standards . In the world economy facilitated by multinational corporations, capital will increasingly be able to play workers, communities, and nations off against one another as they demand tax, regulation and wage concessions while threatening to move. In other words, increased mobility of multinational corporations benefits capital while workers and communities lose. Some negative outcomes generated by multinational corporations include increased inequality , unemployment , and wage stagnation . Raymond Vernon presents

576-467: A chance to gain the license given their work on Star Wars, which led to a Descendants license. Disney Consumer Products also made an attempt to evolve the brand from "damsels" to "heroines." In September 2014, Disney announced Hasbro as the licensed doll maker for the Disney Princess line starting on January 1, 2016. Mattel again became the licensed doll maker, instead of Hasbro, in January 2022 and

672-425: A company-wide community service initiative that focuses on working with nonprofits and organizations around the world to give children a day focused on the power of play. While formerly associated with content productions, as of 2020, Mattel Creations is now an e-commerce and content platform of Mattel, Inc. In April 2020, the company released a Thomas & Friends special titled “The Royal Engine” to celebrate

768-498: A corporation invests in a country in which it is not domiciled, it is called foreign direct investment (FDI). Countries may place restrictions on direct investment; for example, China has historically required partnerships with local firms or special approval for certain types of investments by foreigners, although some of these restrictions were eased in 2019. Similarly, the United States Committee on Foreign Investment in

864-532: A deal with Warner Bros. to become the master licensee for Harry Potter branded toys. It was extended in 2002; Mattel became the master licensee for Superman , Batman , Wonder Woman , the Flash , Justice League and Looney Tunes toys for all markets except Asia. In 2001, the first life-sized Hot Wheels car, the Twin Mill, was created. More than twenty life-sized cars were created and all of them were inducted into

960-566: A different focus than Monster High; Ever After High in 2013 and Enchantimals four years later. In 2011, Hot Wheels set a new world-record for a jump made by a four-wheeled vehicle at the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500. The 332 feet jump broke the previous 301 feet record set in 2009. In early 2010, HIT Entertainment licensed Thomas & Friends to Mattel for toys. Mattel then agreed to purchase HIT Entertainment from Apax Partners on October 24, 2011, for $ 680 million, excluding its share of

1056-429: A free market system where there is little government interference. As a result, international wealth is maximized with free exchange of goods and services. To many economic liberals, multinational corporations are the vanguard of the liberal order. They are the embodiment par excellence of the liberal ideal of an interdependent world economy. They have taken the integration of national economies beyond trade and money to

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1152-458: A garage in Los Angeles . The company name chosen is a portmanteau of the surname of Matson and first name of Elliot, with former chairman and CEO Bob Eckert revealing at a 2013 Christmas Day Peninsula Seniors lecture that the founders, according to Elliot, couldn't fit Ruth's name into that of their company. The company began selling picture frames and later dollhouse furniture out of the scraps from those frames. Matson sold his share and stake to

1248-475: A gumby-like central character named Major Matt Mason . On May 18, 1968, Hot Wheels was released to the market. Hot Wheels was invented by a team of Mattel inventors, which included a rocket scientist and a car designer. That year also saw another doll release, this time, Christie, Barbie's friend and the first black doll, which in the following years and decades would spawn an endless line of Barbie-themed and branded family and friends . In 1969, Mattel changed

1344-446: A joint venture mobile publishing and development studio, Mattel163 , aimed at creating apps based on the former's key brands. That same year, American Girl released “Create Your Own,” allowing kids to create a doll from scratch and customize everything including facial features, hair, accessories and outfits, and the doll’s favorite places and hobbies. On April 19, 2018, Mattel named former Maker Studios CEO Ynon Kreiz as chairman and

1440-487: A million troops to help, and by February 1991, Iraqi forces were expelled from Kuwait. Due to the oil boycott from Kuwait and Iran, oil prices rose and quickly recovered. Saudi Arabia once again led OPEC, and thanks to assistance in defending Kuwait, new relations emerged between the USA and OPEC. Operation "Desert Storm" brought mutual dependence among the main oil producers. OPEC continued to influence global oil prices but recognized

1536-507: A princess-themed Barbie line in 2010. Barbie sales began plummeting in 2012, thus removing focus from the Disney Princess line. Mattel had only sold Cinderella , Ariel , Belle and the two Frozen princesses ( Anna and Elsa ) around its last year of the Disney license in early 2016. With these competing lines and an expiration of the brand license at the end of 2015, Disney gave Hasbro

1632-598: A reboot of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, including new toy lines and brand extensions, a new comic book series and a Netflix series. In October 2019, Mattel released Hot Wheels Monster Trucks, which included a full line of die-cast vehicles, and a national live-event tour, Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live. The company also released a line of gender-neutral dolls called the “Creatable World” Mattel Children’s Foundation announced and organized its second annual "Global Day of Play",

1728-556: A red Duster, were reproduced as Hot Wheels toys. In May 1970, Mattel formed a joint venture film production company " Radnitz/Mattel Productions " with producer Robert B. Radnitz , which would kickstart Mattel's venture into full-time entertainment to accompany its most famed toy TV commercials, and later entered a multimillion-dollar partnership with Mehra Entertainment, whose CEO, Dr. Nishpeksh Padmamohan Mehra and Nishchal Shome, are one of Mattel's Inc.'s main directors for Barbie (film series) . The card game Uno (now stylized as UNO )

1824-410: Is often handled through international arbitration . The actions of multinational corporations are strongly supported by economic liberalism and free market system in a globalized international society. According to the economic realist view, individuals act in rational ways to maximize their self-interest and therefore, when individuals act rationally, markets are created and they function best in

1920-478: Is the world's second largest toy maker in terms of revenue, after The Lego Group . Two of its historic and most valuable brands, Barbie and Hot Wheels , were respectively named the top global toy property and the top-selling global toy of the year for 2020 and 2021 by The NPD Group , a global information research company. Businessman Harold "Matt" Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Elliot and Ruth Handler founded Mattel as Mattel Creations in January 1945 in

2016-865: Is usually a large corporation incorporated in one country that produces or sells goods or services in various countries. Two common characteristics shared by MNCs are their large size and centrally controlled worldwide activities. MNCs may gain from their global presence in a variety of ways. First of all, MNCs can benefit from the economy of scale by spreading R&D expenditures and advertising costs over their global sales, pooling global purchasing power over suppliers, and utilizing their technological and managerial experience globally with minimal additional costs. Furthermore, MNCs can use their global presence to take advantage of underpriced labor services available in certain developing countries and gain access to special R&D capabilities residing in advanced foreign countries. The problem of moral and legal constraints upon

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2112-584: The Jurassic Park franchise after Hasbro's rights expired in 2017. Former Google executive, Margo Georgiadis , was announced as company CEO on 17 January 2017. On November 10, 2017 The Wall Street Journal reported that Hasbro had made a takeover offer for Mattel, with Hasbro worth about $ 11 billion at the time and Mattel, $ 5 billion. The latter rejected the offer less than a week later, according to Reuters . On January 29, 2018, Mattel and Chinese internet technology and video game company NetEase formed

2208-682: The American Girl brand) and Swindon , England -based toymaker Bluebird Toys (along with its most prized property, Polly Pocket ). In the same year, the first American Girl retail store opened for business in Chicago . In 1997, the Fisher-Price Little People toys underwent a redesign to look more like real kids with different skin colors, added arms and hands, and greater detail on the face, hair, and clothes. Also that year, Mattel acquired View-Master , and Hot Wheels partnered with NASCAR drivers Kyle Petty and Jack Baldwin leading to

2304-930: The British East India Company founded in 1600 and the Dutch East India Company (VOC) founded in 1602. In addition to carrying on trade between Great Britain and its colonies, the British East India Company became a quasi-government in its own right, with local government officials and its own army in India. Other examples include the Swedish Africa Company founded in 1649 and the Hudson's Bay Company founded in 1670. These early corporations engaged in international trade and exploration and set up trading posts. The Dutch government took over

2400-476: The COVID-19 pandemic . Multinational corporation Most of the current largest and most influential companies are publicly traded multinational corporations, including Forbes Global 2000 companies. The history of multinational corporations began with the history of colonialism . The first multi-national corporations were founded to set up colonial "factories" or port cities. The two main examples were

2496-516: The Mattel Creations and the "Mattel, Inc. – Toymakers" marketing brands to just Mattel and launched the "red sun" logo with the Mattel wordmark in all capitals for better identity. In 1970, Hot Wheels forged a sponsorship agreement with drag racing drivers Don “The Snake” Prudhomme and Tom “The Mongoose” McEwen . In addition to other marketing measures, the two racers’ cars, a yellow Barracuda and

2592-719: The PBS Kids Sprout channel (now Universal Kids), which would be completed on February 1, 2012 for £680m, and be managed under Mattel's Fisher-Price unit. In 2012, Mattel introduced a doll, Ella, to the Barbie line. The doll is bald and was distributed directly through hospitals to children experiencing hair loss due to cancer and other diseases. On October 16, 2013, with reports of high profitability, Mattel launched an in-house film studio, Mattel Playground Productions , through which it produces original films, TV shows, Web series, live events, and games. Fortune Magazine named Mattel one of

2688-603: The "vaunted" Gilmore Engineering -chassied Donovan Engineering Special dragster sorted out, Tom McEwen quit, and was replaced by Prudhomme, then owner-driver in the B&;M Tork Master-sponsored car. In 1965, Prudhomme faced Hot Wheels teammate McEwen at the Hot Rod Magazine Championship Drag Races , held at Riverside , "one of the most significant drag racing events" of that era; ultimately, Top Fuel Eliminator (TFE) went to Jim Warren . He raced

2784-650: The 19th century, such as the Rio Tinto company founded in 1873, which started with the purchase of sulfur and copper mines from the Spanish government. Rio Tinto, now based in London and Melbourne , Australia, has made many acquisitions and expanded globally to mine aluminum , iron ore , copper , uranium , and diamonds . European mines in South Africa began opening in the late 19th century, producing gold and other minerals for

2880-521: The 2013 movie Snake and Mongoose which features the rivalry between "The Snake" and Tom "The Mongoose" McEwen . The film also discusses how both drivers brought drag racing into mainstream with the Mattel Hot Wheels sponsorship. In the movie, he plays a track employee helping racers find their pits. The movie was inspired by the book Snake vs. Mongoose: How a Rivalry Changed Drag Racing Forever , written by Tom Madigan. Don Prudhomme's early career

2976-613: The Astronaut Barbie, the first of many space-themed iterations of the doll, was introduced. In 1965, the company built on its success with the Chatty Cathy doll to introduce the See 'n Say talking toy, spawning a line of products. Barbie traveled to the Moon four years before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin . In 1967, Mattel released a toy astronaut with space vehicles and a Moon base for boys, with

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3072-546: The English language. Senior officials, although mostly still Swedish, all learned English and all major internal documents were in English, the lingua franca of multinational corporations. After the war, the number of businesses having at least one foreign country operation rose drastically from a few thousand to 78,411 in 2007. Meanwhile, 74% of parent companies are located in economically advanced countries. Developing and former communist countries such as China, India, and Brazil are

3168-568: The Handlers due to poor health the following year, with Ruth Handler taking over his stake. In 1947, the company had its first successful toy, a ukulele called "Uke-A-Doodle". The company was incorporated in Hawthorne, California in 1948. In 1950, the Magic 8-Ball , currently owned by Mattel themselves, was invented by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman. Mattel started television advertisement when it became

3264-763: The Hot Wheels Garage of Legends. American Girl launched its “Girl of the Year” campaign in 2001 to highlight dolls with contemporary stories; each doll is only available for a year. In 2002, the company closed its last factory in the United States ; the factory was originally part of Fisher-Price outsourcing production to China . A chain of events followed that led to its distribution of millions of hazardous toys, including ones contaminated with lead. On August 14, 2007, Mattel recalled over 18 million products, with Louise Story of The New York Times in close coverage. Many of

3360-557: The International Energy Agency (IEA), enabling states to coordinate policy, gather data, and monitor global oil reserves. In the 1970s, OPEC gradually nationalized the Seven Sisters. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as the only largest world oil producer, could leverage this. However, Saudi Arabia opted for the correct approach and maintained consistent oil prices throughout the 1970s. In 1979, the "second oil shock" came from

3456-561: The Netherlands has become a popular choice, as its company laws have fewer requirements for meetings, compensation, and audit committees, and Great Britain had advantages due to laws on withholding dividends and a double-taxation treaty with the United States. Corporations can legally engage in tax avoidance through their choice of jurisdiction but must be careful to avoid illegal tax evasion . Corporations that are broadly active across

3552-545: The OLI framework. The other theoretical dimension of the role of multinational corporations concerns the relationship between the globalization of economic engagement and the culture of national and local responses. This has a history of self-conscious cultural management going back at least to the 60s. For example: Ernest Dichter, architect, of Exxon's international campaign, writing in the Harvard Business Review in 1963,

3648-458: The Third World colonies. That changed dramatically after 1945 as investors turned to industrialized countries and invested in manufacturing (especially high-tech electronics, chemicals, drugs, and vehicles) as well as trade. Sweden's leading manufacturing concern was SKF , a leading maker of bearings for machinery. In order to expand its international business, it decided in 1966 it needed to use

3744-795: The Top Fuel championship in 2002 and 2003. In 2009, Dixon signed to drive the Al-Anabi Top Fuel Dragster, and Spencer Massey took over Prudhomme's car. At the end of the 2009 racing season, sponsorship went away and Prudhomme retired from active racing. In 2019 Don Prudomme currently sponsors and built the Montana Brand / John Force Racing Top fuel dragster driven by Austin Prock in the NHRA Mello Yello Drag Racing Series Prudhomme's accomplishments in racing are featured in

3840-636: The U.S. applies its corporate taxation "extraterritorially", which has motivated tax inversions to change the home state. By 2019, most OECD nations, with the notable exception of the U.S., had moved to territorial tax in which only revenue inside the border was taxed; however, these nations typically scrutinize foreign income with controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules to avoid base erosion and profit shifting . In practice, even under an extraterritorial system, taxes may be deferred until remittance, with possible repatriation tax holidays , and subject to foreign tax credits . Countries generally cannot tax

3936-527: The United States sanctions against Iran ; European companies faced with the possibility of losing access to the U.S. market by trading with Iran. International investment agreements also facilitate direct investment between two countries, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement and most favored nation status. Raymond Vernon reported in 1977 that of the largest multinationals focused on manufacturing, 250 were headquartered in

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4032-506: The United States scrutinizes foreign investments. In addition, corporations may be prohibited from various business transactions by international sanctions or domestic laws. For example, Chinese domestic corporations or citizens have limitations on their ability to make foreign investments outside China, in part to reduce capital outflow . Countries can impose extraterritorial sanctions on foreign corporations even for doing business with other foreign corporations, which occurred in 2019 with

4128-609: The United States as the largest consumer and guarantor of the existing oil security order. Since the Iraq War, OPEC has had only a minor influence on oil prices, but it has expanded to 11 members, accounting for about 40 percent of total global oil production, although this is a decline from nearly 50 percent in 1974. Oil has practically become a common commodity, leading to much more volatile prices. Most OPEC members are wealthy, and most remain dependent on oil revenues, which has serious consequences, such as when OPEC members were pressured by

4224-461: The United States from 2010. The USA became the leading oil producer, creating tension with OPEC. In 2014, Saudi Arabia increased production to push new American producers out of the market, leading to lower prices. OPEC then reduced production in 2016 to raise prices, further worsening relations with the United States. By 2012, only 7% of the world's known oil reserves were in countries that allowed private international companies free rein; 65% were in

4320-610: The United States, 115 in Western Europe, 70 in Japan, and 20 in the rest of the world. The multinationals in banking numbered 20 headquartered in the United States, 13 in Europe, nine in Japan and three in Canada. Today multinationals can select from a variety of jurisdictions for various subsidiaries, but the ultimate parent company can select a single legal domicile ; The Economist suggests that

4416-738: The VOC in 1799, and during the 19th century, other governments increasingly took over private companies, most notably in British India. During the process of decolonization , the European colonial charter companies were disbanded, with the final colonial corporation, the Mozambique Company , dissolving in 1972. Mining of gold, silver, copper, and oil was a major activity early on and remains so today. International mining companies became prominent in Britain in

4512-498: The West to the post-colonial South and invest either in foreign expenditures or ostentatious economic development projects. After 1974, most of the money from OPEC members ceased as payments for goods and services or investments in Western industry. In February 1974, the first Washington Energy Conference was convened. The most significant contribution of this conference was the establishment of

4608-559: The banishing of Elliot and Ruth Handler from the company they had founded. Arthur S. Spear, then a Mattel vice president, took control of the company in 1975 and returned the company to profitability in two years. In 1978, the Mattel Children's Foundation was founded. Ruth Handler sold her stock in 1980 and finally let loose of the company she co-founded. Mattel debuted its Electronics line in 1977 with an all-electronic handheld game. Its success led to its expansion with game consoles then

4704-462: The behavior of multinational corporations, given that they are effectively "stateless" actors, is one of several urgent global socioeconomic problems that has emerged during the late twentieth century. Potentially, the best concept for analyzing society's governance limitations over modern corporations is the concept of "stateless corporations". Coined at least as early as 1991 in Business Week ,

4800-547: The cars, released in 1970. Hot Wheels celebrated their 35th anniversary in 2005 with a two-day event. In the 1980s, Prudhomme gained widespread recognition among late night television viewers when David Letterman told a recurring joke about a new "Prudhomme restaurant" opening, ostensibly referencing world famous chef Paul Prudhomme, but then saying "no, Don Prudhomme!" claiming the menu included "Funny Car Veal" and "Nitro-burning Prawns". He retired in 1994 to manage his own racing team. With driver Larry Dixon , Prudhomme's team won

4896-541: The characters of Frozen were part of the line. The latest collection of dolls was available for purchase in January 2023. In January 2015, board member Christopher Sinclair replaced CEO Bryan Stockton, following with 2/3 of senior executives resigning or receiving lay off. The following month, an upgraded View-Master to provide a virtual reality viewing experience was announced through a partnership with Google Cardboard. On January 21, 2016, Mattel acquired Fuhu, makers of Nabi tablets and other technology-driven hardware, in

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4992-517: The circus (and related companies) in 1982 for $ 22.8 million. In the early 1980s, Mattel produced video game systems , under its own brands and under license from Nintendo . In 1985, the company launched the Barbie “We Girls Can Do Anything” TV advertising campaign to encourage girls to believe in themselves. They also released the CEO / Day-to-Night Barbie to celebrate women becoming CEOs. In 1986, Barbie joined

5088-728: The collapse of the Shah's regime in Iran. Iran became a regional power due to oil money and American weapons. The Shah eventually abdicated and fled the country. This prompted a strike by thousands of Iranian oil workers, significantly reducing oil production in Iran. Saudi Arabia tried to cope with the crisis by increasing production, but oil prices still soared, leading to the "second oil shock." Saudi Arabia significantly reduced oil production, losing most of its revenues. In 1986, Riyadh changed course, and oil production in Saudi Arabia sharply increased, flooding

5184-650: The companies. This occurred in 1960. Prior to the 1973 oil crisis , the Seven Sisters controlled around 85 percent of the world's petroleum reserves . In the 1970s, most countries with large reserves nationalized their reserves that had been owned by major oil companies. Since then, industry dominance has shifted to the OPEC cartel and state-owned oil and gas companies, such as Saudi Aramco , Gazprom (Russia), China National Petroleum Corporation , National Iranian Oil Company , PDVSA (Venezuela), Petrobras (Brazil), and Petronas (Malaysia). A unilateral increase in oil prices

5280-510: The conception was theoretically clarified in 1993: that an empirical strategy for defining a stateless corporation is with analytical tools at the intersection between demographic analysis and transportation research. This intersection is known as logistics management , and it describes the importance of rapidly increasing global mobility of resources. In a long history of analysis of multinational corporations, we are some quarter-century into an era of stateless corporations—corporations that meet

5376-643: The creation of a "world customer". The idea of a global corporate village entailed the management and reconstitution of parochial attachments to one's nation. It involved not a denial of the naturalness of national attachments, but an internationalization of the way a nation defines itself. "Multinational enterprise" (MNE) is the term used by international economist and similarly defined with the multinational corporation (MNC) as an enterprise that controls and manages production establishments, known as plants located in at least two countries. The multinational enterprise (MNE) will engage in foreign direct investment (FDI) as

5472-675: The debate from a neo-liberal perspective in Storm over the Multinationals (1977). Don Prudhomme Don Prudhomme (born April 6, 1941, in San Fernando, California ), nicknamed " the Snake ", is an American drag racer. He was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1991. Prudhomme crewed for "TV Tommy" Ivo on Ivo's twin-engined slingshot in 1960. In 1962, Prudhomme

5568-629: The exclusive rights to sell dolls, stuffed characters and preschool toys based on Disney characters. On January 31, 1988, Mattel shut down its operations in the Philippines and shifted the distribution and sales of Mattel-branded toys and games to Richprime Global, Inc. (formerly Richwell Trading Corporation). Mattel returned to working with Disney the following year. In 1991, Mattel moved its headquarters from Hawthorne to its current El Segundo site, in Los Angeles County . In 1992, Mattel created

5664-481: The firm makes direct investments in host country plants for equity ownership and managerial control to avoid some transaction costs . Sanjaya Lall in 1974 proposed a spectrum of scholarly analysis of multinational corporations, from the political right to the left. He put the business school how-to-do-it writers at the extreme right, followed by the liberal laissez-faire economists, and the neoliberals (they remain right of center but do allow for occasional mistakes of

5760-495: The first President Barbie, claiming that Barbie has run for President 7 times since 1992 and released an all-ticket in 2016. Mattel entered the gaming business in 1992 with the purchase of International Games, creators of UNO and Skip-Bo . The company purchased Fisher-Price, Inc. on August 20, 1993, and Tyco Toys, Inc. (owners of the Matchbox and Dinky Toys brands) in 1997. In 1998, Mattel acquired Pleasant Company (creators of

5856-471: The first diverse line of Barbie dolls with a Hispanic doll and the first African-American Barbie (unrelated to Barbie friend Christie), which will eventually include iterations of Barbie from more than 40 countries. In 1982, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe line of action figures was released, which inspired a three-issue comic book mini-series, an animated series and a live-action film. The Felds bought

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5952-525: The first sponsor of the Mickey Mouse Club TV series. The Fisher-Price Corn Popper , and the Xylophone was released in 1957. Mattel would ultimately acquire Fisher-Price on August 20, 1993. The Barbie doll debuted on March 9, 1959, going on to become the company's best-selling toy in history. In 1960, Mattel introduced Chatty Cathy , a talking doll that was voiced by June Foray and revolutionized

6048-498: The following year at a loss. The company had a $ 430.9 million net loss that year. Mattel earned the first grant for the Disney Princess doll license in 2000. In December 2000, Mattel sued Danish-Norwegian europop band Aqua , claiming their song " Barbie Girl " violated the Barbie trademark and turned her into a sex object, referring to her as a "blonde bimbo ". The lawsuit was rejected two years later. In 2000, Mattel signed

6144-496: The formation of its global franchise management division to be headed by Janet Hsu as chief franchise management officer. The division was mandated to seek out new commercial opportunities plus to bring to together consumer products, content development and distribution, digital gaming, live events and partnerships. Hsu was previously the CEO of Saban Brands, where Frederic Soulie last worked before being appointed as senior vice president of content distribution and business development in

6240-629: The franchise division on September 28, 2018. Hot Wheels celebrated its 50th anniversary the same year by recreating and selling as a set the original 16 Hot Wheels die-cast cars. That same year in September, Thomas & Friends announced an alliance with the United Nations to introduce some of the organization’s Sustainable Development Goals , including quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, sustainable cities and communities, responsible consumption and production and life on land, into

6336-416: The hands of state-owned companies that operated in one country and sold oil to multinationals such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil and Chevron. Down through the 1930s, about 80% of the international investments by multinational corporations were concentrated in the primary sector, especially mining (especially oil) and agriculture (rubber, tobacco, sugar, palm oil , coffee, cocoa, and tropical fruits). Most went to

6432-566: The international oil market. Iran was unable to sell any of its oil. In August 1953, the then-prime minister was overthrown by a pro-American dictatorship led by the Shah, and in October 1954, the Iranian industry was denationalized. Worldwide oil consumption increased rapidly between 1949 and 1970, a period known as the 'golden age of oil'. This increase in consumption was caused not only by the growth of production by multinational oil companies but also by

6528-415: The internationalization of production. For the first time in history, production, marketing, and investment are being organized on a global scale rather than in terms of isolated national economies. International business is also a specialist field of academic research. Economic theories of the multinational corporation include internalization theory and the eclectic paradigm . The latter is also known as

6624-468: The issue of girls seeing themselves as less capable than boys. On June 14, 2019, Mattel released new Hot Wheels ID line of cars, which are embedded with NFC chips so that people can scan the cars and then build tracks, race, and view race stats for combined digital and physical racing play. On December 16, Mattel released an update that allowed kids to scan their cars into an app and then access different coding exercises. On August 19, 2019, Mattel announced

6720-460: The largest recipients. However, 70% of foreign direct investment went into developed countries in the form of stocks and cash flows. The rise in the number of multinational companies could be due to a stable political environment that encourages cooperation, advances in technology that enable management of faraway regions, and favorable organizational development that encourages business expansion into other countries. A multinational corporation (MNC)

6816-474: The laws and regulations of both their domicile and the additional jurisdictions where they are engaged in business. In some cases, the jurisdiction can help to avoid burdensome laws, but regulatory statutes often target the "enterprise" with statutory language around "control". As of 1992 , the United States and most OECD countries have the donot legal authority to tax a domiciled parent corporation on its worldwide revenue, including subsidiaries. As of 2019 ,

6912-552: The line, eventually becoming incorporated in 1982. Mattel Electronics forced Mattel to take a $ 394 million loss the following and almost filed for bankruptcy. In 1979, through Feld Productions , Mattel purchased the Holiday on Ice and Ice Follies for $ 12 million, Also acquired that year was Western Publishing for $ 120 million in cash and stock. which they sold to Richard A. Bernstein in December 4 years later. In 1980, Mattel introduced

7008-514: The list of famous individuals painted by Andy Warhol . New York City -based venture capital firms E.M. Warburg, Pincus & Co. , and Drexel Burnham Lambert invested a couple hundred million dollars in Mattel in 1984 to help the company survive. However, the Masters of the Universe action figure line sales dropped, causing a $ 115 million loss in 1987. In the late 1980s, John W. Amerman, who joined Mattel in 1980 as head of its international division,

7104-488: The market with cheap oil. This caused a worldwide drop in oil prices, hence the "third oil shock" or "counter-shock." However, this shock represented something much bigger—the end of OPEC's dominance and its control over oil prices. Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decided to attack Kuwait. The invasion sparked a crisis in the Middle East, prompting Saudi Arabia to request assistance from the United States. The United States sent

7200-531: The marketplace such as externalities). Moving to the left side of the line are nationalists, who prioritize national interests over corporate profits, then the "dependencia" school in Latin America that focuses on the evils of imperialism, and on the far left the Marxists. The range is so broad that scholarly consensus is hard to discern. Anti-corporate advocates criticize multinational corporations for being without

7296-560: The price collapse in 1998–1999. The United States still maintains close relations with Saudi Arabia. In 2003, U.S. forces invaded Iraq with the aim of removing the dictatorship and gaining access to Iraqi oil reserves, giving the United States greater strategic importance from 2000 to 2008. During this period, there was a constant shortage of oil, but its consumption continued to rise, maintaining high prices and leading to concerns about "peak oil". From 2005 to 2012, there were advances in oil and gas extraction, leading to increased production in

7392-679: The production of the first NASCAR-themed vehicles. In 1998, Mattel donated $ 25 million to help rebuild UCLA’s children’s hospital, which was later renamed the UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital . Barbie was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame that year and the first Thomas & Friends theme park, Thomas Land, opened in Fujikyu Park in Japan . Mattel purchased The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey) in 1999 for $ 3.5 billion, but sold it

7488-584: The products had surface coatings that contained more than the U.S. legal limit of .06% lead by weight. Other toys were recalled because their strong, detachable magnets could endanger children. Mattel re-wrote its policy on magnets, finally issuing a recall in August 2007. The recall included 7.1 million Polly Pocket toys produced before November 2006, 600,000 Barbie and Tanner Playsets, 1 million Doggie Daycare , Shonen Jump 's One Piece and thousands of Batman Manga toys due to exposed magnets . In 2009, Mattel paid

7584-500: The program’s 75th anniversary, featuring animated versions of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles as children and introduced by the Duke of Sussex. In the same month, the new Basquiat Barbie was introduced, featuring the work of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat . Mattel also created an online resource, "Mattel Playroom", to provide free games, activities, coloring sheets, DIY projects resources for parents/caregivers and more to help families during

7680-595: The realities of the needs of source materials on a worldwide basis and to produce and customize products for individual countries. One of the first multinational business organizations, the East India Company , was established in 1601. After the East India Company came the Dutch East India Company , founded on March 20, 1603, which would become the largest company in the world for nearly 200 years. The main characteristics of multinational companies are: When

7776-516: The replacement CEO for outgoing CEO Georgiardis who moved on to head Ancestry.com , effective from April 26, 2018. Two months later, the company laid off 2,200 employees partially due to the liquidation of Toys "R" Us in the U.S. Kreiz started reorganization of Mattel which included new board of directors and added that executives having entertainment backgrounds and a global franchise management group had been charged with finding new opportunities in existing markets. On 30 August 2018, Mattel indicated

7872-558: The show’s content. On December 24, 2018, Mattel announced the loss of the DC Comics toy license to Spin Master starting in the spring of 2020, hitting an 18-year low on its share price which concluded at $ 9.25 for a share. Mattel reorganized Mattel Creations and renamed it Mattel Television on February 5, 2019, which would be headed by former Disney Branded Television programming executive Adam Bonnett. On June 30, 2020, Fred Soulie in turn

7968-495: The strong influence of the United States on the global oil market. In 1959, companies lowered the price of oil due to a surplus in the market. This reduction dealt a significant blow to the finances of producers. Saudi oil minister Abdullah Tariki and Venezuela’s Juan Perez Alfonso entered into a secret agreement (the Mahdi Pact), promising that if the price of oil was lowered a second time, they would take collective action against

8064-414: The top 100 companies to work for in 2013, noting only 1,292 positions were full, out of 164,045 job applications during the previous year, as well as more than 1,000 employees had been with the company longer than 15 years. On February 28, 2014, Mattel acquired Mega Brands On April 16, 2015, Mattel announced a partnership with invention platform Quirky to crowd-source a number of products. Mattel added

8160-530: The toy industry, leading to pull-string talking dolls and toys flooding the market throughout the 1960s and 1970s. In 1961, Mattel introduced the Ken doll . The company went public in 1960 and became listed on the New York Stock Exchange 3 years later. Mattel also acquired a number of like-minded companies during the 1960s. The Barbie Dreamhouse made with cardboard and paper made its debut in 1962, when also

8256-484: The world market, jobs for locals, and business and profits for companies. Cecil Rhodes (1853–1902) was one of the few businessmen in the era who became Prime Minister (of South Africa 1890–1896). His mining enterprises included the British South Africa Company and De Beers . The latter company practically controlled the global diamond market from its base in southern Africa. In 1945, the United States

8352-573: The world without a concentration in one area have been called stateless or "transnational" (although "transnational corporation" is also used synonymously with "multinational corporation" ), but as of 1992, a corporation must be legally domiciled in a particular country and engage in other countries through foreign direct investment and the creation of foreign subsidiaries. Geographic diversification can be measured across various domains, including ownership and control, workforce, sales, and regulation and taxation. Multinational corporations may be subject to

8448-503: The worldwide revenue of a foreign subsidiary, and taxation is complicated by transfer pricing arrangements with parent corporations. For small corporations, registering a foreign subsidiary can be expensive and complex, involving fees, signatures, and forms; a professional employer organization (PEO) is sometimes advertised as a cheaper and simpler alternative, but not all jurisdictions have laws accepting these types of arrangements. Disputes between corporations in different nations

8544-415: Was "role-tripled" to general manager and senior vice president of the new division. On March 9, 2019, Mattel celebrated Barbie's 60th anniversary. As part of the anniversary celebrations, Mattel released 20 new role model dolls in its Shero line to recognize influential women around the world. Mattel donated $ 1 from every sale to its Dream Gap Project Fund, which aims to work with other organizations to end

8640-575: Was a partner in the Greer- Black -Prudhomme fuel digger , which earned the best win record in National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) history, before switching to Funny Car . He would win the NHRA FC championship four times in his 35-year career. He earned the nickname "The Snake" in high school. He was the first Funny Car driver to exceed 250 mph (400 km/h). After trouble getting

8736-438: Was enabled by multinational corporations known as the 'Seven Sisters'. The "Seven Sisters" was a common term for the seven multinational companies that dominated the global petroleum industry from the mid-1940s to the mid-1970s. The nationalization of the Iranian oil industry in 1951 by Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and the subsequent boycott of Iranian oil by all companies had dramatic consequences for Iran and

8832-448: Was fully aware that the means to overcoming cultural resistance depended on an "understanding" of the countries in which a corporation operated. He observed that companies with "foresight to capitalize on international opportunities" must recognize that " cultural anthropology will be an important tool for competitive marketing". However, the projected outcome of this was not the assimilation of international firms into national cultures, but

8928-514: Was invented by Merle Robbins in 1971, and was acquired by Mattel in 1996. In 1971, Mattel purchased The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus from the Feld family for $ 40 million, whom Mattel kept on as management. Mattel sold the circus corporation by December 1973 although it was profitable; Mattel showed a $ 29.9 million loss in 1972. In 1974, an investigation found Mattel guilty of issuing false and misleading financial reports, which led to

9024-546: Was labeled as "the largest nonviolent transfer of wealth in human history." The OPEC sought immediate discussions regarding participation in national oil industries. Companies were not inclined to object as the price hike benefited both them and OPEC members. In 1980, the Seven Sisters were entirely displaced and replaced by national oil companies (NOCs). The rise in oil prices burdened developing countries with balance of payments deficits, leading to an energy crisis. OPEC members had to abandon their plan of redistributing wealth from

9120-477: Was named the company’s new chairman and improved its financial performance in 1987 by focusing on core brands. It paid off as sales of Barbie dolls and accessories increased from $ 430 million to almost $ 1 billion between 1987 and 1992. Mattel secured licensing and sponsorship rights from The Walt Disney Company for a new line of infant and preschool plush toys in 1988, sponsor attractions and to develop and sell toys at three Disney theme parks. Mattel also negotiated

9216-503: Was the world's largest oil producer. However, their reserves were declining due to high demand. Therefore, the United States turned to foreign oil sources, which had a significant impact on the recovery of the West after World War II. Most of the world's oil was found in Latin America and the Middle East, particularly in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. This increase in non-American production

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