TOY SALES FALL. BOUNCING BACK?

Toymaker Mattel posted second-quarter revenues of $732 million and a loss of 26 cents per share, beating analysts’ expectations of $679 million in revenue and a per-share loss of 34 cents.
The company also announced a gross margin of 43.8 percent, an improvement over the same period a year earlier. The company’s gross margin improved on a year-over-year basis during the quarter to 43.8 percent.
Mattel’s share price shot up 4 percent on the news.
Toys and games for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers fell 21 percent year-on-year, vehicles crashed 26 percent, and action figures and building sets 12 percent. Dolls lost 5 percent but Barbie sales climbed 7 percent.
Mattel’s sales declines contrasted with the toy industry overall, which saw sales rise 16 percent during the first half of the year as parents tried to keep kids occupied at home.
TREND FORECAST: As children spend more time at home, be it online school or afraid to go out, from toys to hi-tech, parents will buy what they can to entertain children.
Moreover, with more parents working from home, they will do what they can and buy what they can to keep their children distracted.