Word: mattel
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Competitors of Toys "R" Us have been slapping the retail giant silly in recent years. Last week the Federal Trade Commission took a whack, ruling that Toys "R" Us had illegally forced such manufacturers as Mattel and Hasbro to withhold their products from warehouse clubs like Costco. The FTC barred Toys "R" Us from blacklisting toymakers for selling to low-price clubs. The company says it will appeal...
...stores. Exhibit A: Barbie, a hot seller that Toys "R" Us did not want available elsewhere at next to nothing. Manufacturers don't like the clubs either, because they stock a limited number of items at very low margins. Toys "R" Us, on the other hand, might stock everything Mattel makes. Admits Costco CEO James Sinegal: "You could fill Madison Square Garden with the people who don't want to sell to us." Industry watchers say the FTC may be sending a message to other retailers whose market power exceeds their market share. "It's a warning shot across...
...celebs in the world, whose image is protected most fiercely? Barbie's. Now ever vigilant Mattel, which makes the toy, is suing MCA records for trademark infringement over Barbie Girl, a bubble-gum dance song by the Danish band Aqua. It doesn't help that the song has lyrics like "You can brush my hair/ Undress me everywhere...
CONVERTING THE RED PLANET INTO GREEN While the most successful Mars-related product has so far proved to be Mattel's Hot Wheels Mars Rover Action Pack (for a mere $5 you get mini versions of Sojourner, Pathfinder and the lander), those who would rather own something more real than realistic may contact Dennis Hope of Rio Vista, Calif. He will sell you 2,000 acres of prime Mars real estate for $19.99 plus shipping and handling and $1.51 for Martian tax. In 1980 Hope informed various Earth governments that he was claiming ownership of all the land...
...iffier question is how much traffic there will be for games that aren't as retrograde as, say, Barbie Magic Hair Styler--this fall's offering from Mattel. Some of the new titles come linked to popular books like the American Girl and Babysitters' Club series or Hollywood franchises such as Clueless and Sabrina, the Teenage Witch. But a few hardy souls plan to sail unlicensed into waters that, given the hit-or-miss track record of CD-ROMs, are most kindly described as uncharted...