"Significant progress" made to better position the toy giant for second half and beyond.
Mattel is positioning itself for a strong second half of the year following reports of a drop in worldwide net sales in its second quarter.
The company has seen a nine per cent decrease in global sales for the first half of 2014, compared to last year’s second quarter net income of $73.3 million.
However, the firm is positive that its recent acquisitions and initiatives will come in to fruition in the second half.
"In the second quarter, we made significant progress across a number of initiatives to better position Mattel in the second half of the year and beyond,” said Bryan G. Stockton, Mattel chairman and chief executive officer.
"For example, we completed the acquisition of Mega Brands, reduced inventories, strengthened our management team, shifted marketing spend to the back half of the year, and exercised strong controls on SG&A expenses.
The firm continues that while the results for the second quarter “did not meet expectations,” the toy giant has seen improving POS trends, a positive it will continue to pursue with new product development.
"As we move in to the second half of the year and the all-important holiday season, we need to drive POS higher by bringing innovative products to market, making additional advertising investments and optimizing the effectiveness of our marketing spend,” said Stockton.
