Mattel 2001 Annual Report Download - page 4

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 4 of the 2001 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 99

  • 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

market share in the U.S. in the dolls, vehi-
cles, action figures, games and puzzles and
core infant and preschool categories. Our
market share of total traditional toys grew
1.2 percentage points to 23.5 percent.
We also recorded strong market share
gains outside the U.S.,
as our market share
grew in the five major
European markets,
as well as in Canada,
Mexico and Australia.
We began reaping the
benefits of our strategic partnership
with Bandai, Japan’s largest toy
maker, eliminating chronic operating
losses in that country and building our
brands in the world’s second largest
toy-purchasing nation.
Our brands benefited from strong market-
ing programs, which promoted product
lines such as Barbie in the Nutcracker™
,
the innovative What’s Her Face?™doll,
which combines fashion and activity play,
the Fisher-Price®
Rescue Heroes™line
of positive role models,
and Hot Wheels®,
which once again
claimed the title of best-
selling toy of the year.
We further gained market share by improving
the performance of our supply chain.
Our customer service levels strengthened
measurably as we partnered with retailers
to get the right product to the right place
at the right time, all with lower costs.
This improvement allowed retailers to
better plan and execute merchandising
programs, which supported our market
share growth.
In 2001, perhaps
the most dramatic
evidence of our
improved supply
chain performance
was seen in the suc-
cessful, worldwide
launch of our Harry Potter™toys to coin-
cide with the global theatrical debut of
Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer’s Stone
™
,
last year’s box office
smash. This was
particularly challeng-
ing, as never before
had we launched so
many products on a
global basis in such close proximity to the
holiday season. I am pleased to report
that our supply chain teams executed
tremendously well.
I also wrote in last year’s annual report
about the importance of executing our
financial realignment plan and delivering
the cost savings we promised. I am
delighted to say that we are on track to
realize the full $200 million in savings that
we projected. In 2001, gross margin
increased by 110 basis points, while
selling, general and administrative costs
Our market share grew
in the five major
European markets, as
well as in Canada, Mexico
and Australia.
2