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era, left in 2010, and returned four years later. “The creative con-
versation wasn’t necessarily the paramount one.”
Mattel also had a unique approach to its smaller brands: It
tossed them all in a segment called “toy box,” an everything-else
category that Kreiz calls “a black box that lost money.” The unit,
whose brands included Polly Pocket dolls, card game Uno, and toys
affiliated with the video game Minecraft, recorded $1.6 billion in
revenue last year. Previous management saw so much value in the
concept that it created a short-lived reality-TV show on ABC called
The Toy Box, a competition in which contestants pitched ideas,
and the winner would see their toy made by Mattel and sold by
Toys “R” Us. The show died when the retailer did.
The executive suite had a revolving door, with each successive
CEO lasting a shorter time than his or her predecessor. Weeks after
Georgiadis joined Mattel, it was forced to disclose a massive short-
fall in earnings. That prompted her to cut the dividend, sending
shares plummeting. Georgiadis staked her tenure on tech-enabled
toys, few of which excited kids enough to change Mattel’s trajec-
tory. Having signed up to grow a company, not to orchestrate a
turnaround, she jumped at the opportunity to run Ancestry.com.
In April 2018, the board turned to Kreiz, who had joined its ranks
the previous year, to succeed her.
Kreiz decided early on to ditch the toy box and shift Mattel’s
portfolio focus, grouping its brands into two buckets: toy-industry
leaders (dolls, vehicles, infant/preschool) and challengers (games,
construction, action figures). “This is almost obvious,” he says. “Why
wouldn’t you do it that way? It’s how the toy industry is organized.”
Turning Mattel toward what has worked for others would become a
recurring theme for the newcomer.
HERE’S A ROBOTIC quality to Ynon
Kreiz’s voice. He speaks deliberately,
at a metronomic pace, and in a
register that lacks highs and lows.
The voice matches the person, whom
associates describe as sure and steady, disci-
plined, and unflappable. Kreiz, who is 54, was
born in Israel and went to UCLA for business
school. He landed a job with Haim Saban,
another transplanted Israeli, who ran a company
that specialized in children’s TV programming.
Kreiz served as a right-hand man to Saban,
who says he likes to have a U.S.-educated
Israeli beside him, someone who understands
the American business context but with whom
he can switch to Hebrew when the need arises
to speak confidentially in front of others.
Saban calls Kreiz a “relentless perfection-
ist” and credits the younger executive with
the idea that grew into Fox Kids Europe, a
TV programming block that Kreiz ran from
London and later sold to Disney. Kreiz still
considers Saban a mentor. “I got my MBA
at UCLA,” he says, “and I got my Ph.D. with
Haim.” (His friendship with Kreiz didn’t stop
Saban from selling his Power Rangers fran-
chise last year to Hasbro, for $522 million.)
After selling Fox Kids Europe, Kreiz stayed
with Disney for a while, then ran Endemol, a
BARBIE (born 1959)
The cultural mainstay ac-
counts for 20% of overall
sales. Barbie has changed
with the culture, taking on
different shapes and colors.
A live-action film, starring
Margot Robbie in the title
role, could be the next big
brand extension.
HOT WHEELS (b. 1968)
Mattel makes 520 million a
year; a few include ID chips
that let them compete in
virtual races online. North
American sales grew 17% in
the most recent quarter. A
Hot Wheels plant in Malay-
sia is the only factory Mattel
doesn’t plan to close.
AMERICAN GIRL (b. 1986)
Dolls, clothing, books, jam-
packed stores. American
Girl grew to epic scale after
Mattel acquired it in 1998.
But knockoffs, particularly
in apparel and accessories,
chipped away at sales, and
some critics say the retail
experience has grown stale.
FISHER-PRICE (b. 1930)
The brand aimed at tiny tots
has been a big headache
for Mattel, owing to sales
declines and costly recalls.
In Mattel’s infant and
preschool division, Thomas
the Tank Engine (b. 1984),
shown here, is now among
the biggest stars.
OLD FAVORITES:
Mattel’s Aging Big Four
Mattel has stayed near the top of the toy industry despite not having
had a big new hit in recent years. Among the uncertainties it now faces:
how much more mileage it can get out of what it calls its “power brands.”
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