Word: mattel
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Atari, of course, is not the only video-game company having troubles. Mattel's electronics division, whose Intellivision was the second bestselling game last year, lost $28.2 million in the three months ending Jan. 29, and expects to lose about the same amount during the next quarter. The company blames the red ink on heavy advertising expenses, price cutting and slower sales...
...duty (12.3%) and sells to wholesalers or retail stores for between 70? and 80?. Thus he averages a 40? profit on each toy. So far, Hakuta has spent nothing on advertising or promotion. "It just goes to show you don't have to be a big company like Mattel," he says. Last week, however, a campaign of 30-sec. TV commercials in association with Wendy's hamburger restaurants was launched; it is running in prime time and between Saturday-morning cartoon shows in 466 markets...
Atari's success quickly lured other competitors. A year ago, Mattel was still the major one, but at least 20 companies have products on store shelves this Christmas. In order to hold on to its market share, Atari spent heavily to promote its new E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark games. But sales failed to reach expected levels...
...news about Atari arrived with other grim tidings for the industry. Mattel said that it expected to lose money during the fourth quarter, even though it was shipping more of its heavily advertised Intellivision games than it did a year ago. The company blamed a softening retail market and higher marketing costs that resulted from increased competition. After Mattel's shares began dropping, trading was suspended for more than 1½ days...
...console, ColecoVision, fell almost nine points in two days. Declared President Arnold Greenberg: "This is an inevitable initial reaction when the largest company in the industry says it has had disappointments. Some of the newer companies like us have really taken a large share away from Atari and Mattel." Coleco, based in Hartford, Conn., expects its sales to jump 180% this year, to $500 million...