Mattel 2003 Annual Report Download - page 3

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 3 of the 2003 Mattel annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 118

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118

There are leaders and there are followers. Leaders inspire. They overcome challenges. They are
visionary. Leaders redefine boundaries. They take risks and set the pace. As the world’s largest toy
company with the most powerful brands in the industry, Mattel strives to do all of these things – to
motivate, to push the envelope, to triumph over challenges and to be visionary. At Mattel, it’s not
enough to be part of the pack – we must lead, even in the face of adversity.
And we will do just that.
Looking back, 2003 was a year of mixed results for Mattel. Though we struggled with top-line sales
growth all year, especially in the United States, we continued to grow internationally and made
progress in improving profit margins and strengthening the balance sheet. We also began executing
our capital and investment framework by using our strong cash flow to significantly increase the
cash dividend and initiate a share repurchase program.
We know that to be a leader we must focus on regaining positive momentum in the business and
re-establishing growth in our core brands. To accomplish this, we must lead with children, their
parents and with customers. At the same time, we want to continue the momentum we have
established and lead in our communities as well as with our shareholders.
In order to lead with children and their parents, we must focus our efforts on better understanding
what consumers want and need, and then translate those desires into products that will ultimately
outperform the competition.
A model for success in this area is American Girl®. Since 1986, American Girl®has brought history
to life by artfully weaving together education and entertainment through books, dolls and acces-
sories. Last fall we opened the second American Girl Place®retail location, on New York’s Fifth
Avenue, to give girls a venue and a brand experience unlike any other in their world. Girls
responded by making the New York location an even bigger success than our Chicago store in its
opening holiday season in 1998.
This year, girls will have another way to experience the American Girl®brand through an original,
made-for-television, live-action film based on one of the company’s most popular historical charac-
ters, Samantha Parkington®. The first-ever American Girl®movie is scheduled to air this November
on The WB Television Network. It is a tremendous opportunity to provide the legions of American Girl®
fans with a new way to experience the brand, while simultaneously reaching a whole new audience.
As a leader in the infant and preschool market, we believe that it's important for children to be
exposed to a wide variety of play experiences. We also know that it is critical that these play
experiences be driven by the child's input and imagination. When it comes to learning toys, our
philosophy is no different. Fisher-Price has a team of leading content developers, engineers, early
childhood and development experts onsite every day, actively involved from initial product concept
through final production, making sure our toys are not only fun but also educational.
These unmatched research and development efforts have allowed us to establish a strong position
in the growing Electronic Learning Aid, or ELA, category. Two years ago, the #1 new ELA was
Fisher-Price’s Kasey the KinderbotTM, a robotic friend who helps pre-kindergartners learn physical,
social and reading skills. Last year, Fisher-Price’s PowerTouchTM system was launched to further
help early readers to progress, and was the category’s new product best seller. Building on our
success, this year we are introducing an exciting new lineup of interactive learning toys designed
specifically for children at different developmental stages, from infancy through grade school.
To our shareholders,
Leaders inspire.
They overcome
challenges. They
are visionary.
Leaders redefine
boundaries. They
take risks and set
the pace.
As a leader in
the infant and
preschool market,
we believe that it's
important for
children to be
exposed to a wide
variety of play
experiences. We
also know that it is
critical that these
play experiences
be driven by
the child's input
and imagination.