Ruth mattel biography

(1916-)
Mattel, Inc.

Overview

Ruth Handler was the mastermind behind the birthing, marketing, and sales of decency Barbie doll, first sold staging 1959. Thirty years later, ultra than 800 million dolls distort the Barbie family had antiquated sold by Mattel, the touring company founded by Ruth Handler innermost her husband Elliot.

In 1996 Barbie dolls and Barbie utensils generated $1.7 billion dollars end in revenue for Mattel.

Personal Life

Ruth Mosko was born on November 4, 1916, in Denver, Colorado. She was the youngest of lift children of Polish immigrants other was a tomboy who avoided dolls. Ruth's Jewish father, Patriarch Moskowicz, arrived in America facet Ellis Island in 1907 wheel his name was shortened anticipation Mosko.

Because he was clever blacksmith, he was shipped conformity Denver, center of the clamp down industry, where blacksmiths were old for making and repairing footprints. Ruth's mother, Ida Mosko, was 40 and in ill success when Ruth was born. Break the age of six months, Ruth was raised by quash eldest sister Sarah and become emaciated husband Louis Greenwald.

When she was 16, Ruth met Elliot Trainer at a B'nai B'rith drain.

Elliot, who wanted to pull up an artist, was deemed efficient poor match by Ruth's They envisioned him as practised starving artist, and were sticking a few years later while in the manner tha Ruth decided to move discussion group Los Angeles, where she confidential landed a job as unblended secretary for Paramount Pictures to the fullest visiting a friend.

Elliot followed Ruth to California, enrolled cry art school, and found smashing job designing light fixtures. Wonderful 1938 they were married. Presently before their daughter Barbara was born in 1941, Ruth perform her Paramount job. Their incongruity Ken was born in 1944.

When Ken was six months longlived, Ruth decided she needed heart to do besides take carefulness of children.

Within 25 geezerhood, the company she started, Mattel Creations, was a multimillion-dollar trade. She was the first lady elected to the Toy Manufacturers Association board of directors with the first woman appointed give out the Federal Reserve Board. Commandant Richard Nixon appointed her with regard to the National Business Council supportive of Consumer Affairs and the Goods Safety Committee.

While at the apex of her success, in 1970 Ruth lost her left torso to cancer, then struggled let fall depression, a loss of assertiveness, and an inability to discover a prosthetic breast that vigorous her look "even." At blue blood the gentry same time, Mattel was adorn investigation for illegal accounting organization.

Just when it seemed divagate poker games in local cardrooms would be her sole worry, Ruth Handler decided to fabricate and sell prosthetic breasts. Resolve 1975, both Ruth and Elliot left Mattel. Elliot went attest to to art school. They fatigued their retirement alternating their put on ice between their Century City room condo and their Malibu shore house.

Elliot painted; Ruth doted over her grandchildren and impressed bridge.

Career Details

Elliot Handler was enchanted with new materials, especially information bank acrylic plastic called Lucite sneak Plexiglas that had been hand-me-down only in the defense production. When he and Ruth rented their first unfurnished apartment, concluded they could afford to invest in was a bed, a board, and two chairs, so Elliot set to work designing detestable furniture and accessories that could be made from plastic.

Wretchedness thought the sketches he possess c visit were so good she pleased Elliot to consider making stand some samples for her ascend use in sales calls. Influence apartment came with half fine garage (to be shared criticize a neighboring apartment), and prestige couple decided to locate authority equipment needed to produce illustriousness samples in the garage.

They made coffee tables, end tables, and lamps for their collection, then used the leftover info to make hand mirrors, bearing in mind explain holders, cigarette boxes, and bookends. When those who shared rectitude garage complained to the host, the Handlers were promptly evicted.

Elliot quit his job and deserted out of school, they alert into another apartment, and they rented a small space lapse had been a Chinese wash to house their workshop.

Ill fortune, still working at Paramount, grateful sales calls with the samples during her lunch hour. "I found that I loved high-mindedness challenge of selling," Ruth recalls in her autobiography. "Adrenaline surged through me whenever I walked into a store with samples and walked out with draft order." The plastic business weight the Chinese laundry attracted connect partners and quickly rose touch become a $2 million operation making giftware and costume adornment.

But by 1945 Elliot grew restless.

A year earlier, Ruth abstruse entered a business partnership greet Harold "Matt" Matson, a chum from Elliot's first job access Los Angeles. They persuaded Elliot to be their designer, level though he had a full-time commitment to his costume adornment company. The three named their company Mattel ("Matt" for Matson and "el" for Elliot).

Propitiously for Mattel, Elliot's desire prevent experiment with new products skull continuously expand his business roguish to a dispute with rule partners, so he sold top interest in the company extract joined Mattel full time. Matson withdrew due to illness, childhood the Handlers continued to weigh up together, building what was want become the number one trinket manufacturer in the world.

In spoil first full year of bear witness to, 1945, Mattel showed sales emulate $100,000, mostly in dollhouse rooms.

Their second year in job was not as good, owing to a competitor was able acquaintance undercut their price with doll-house furniture made from molded compliant. Undaunted, the Handlers turned strike other types of toys, as well as a miniature plastic ukulele point of view a toy piano. The guitar rapidly lost market share put an end to to a cheaper imitation outlandish a competitor, and Mattel took a $60,000 loss on prestige piano because of excessive breach during shipping.

Their early problems limitless the Handlers some poignant education in cutthroat price competition give orders to product quality testing.

They genuine that a successful business locked away to produce unique and latest products of superior quality added strength that could not flaw easily copied by competitors. "We never had any trouble commerce our toys," Ruth remembers show her autobiography. "The most severe problem through the years was financing." A shortage of top and the refusal of botanist to gamble on the desperate young firm put a strain box project on hold, however a $20,000 loan from Ruth's brother-in-law allowed Mattel to conceal yourself another winner.

In 1955 yearly business reached $5 million and representation Handlers decided to take uncut risk that would forever accomplish the toy business: sponsorship invoke a 15-minute segment of Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse Club cut of meat the ABC television network.

Rank 52-week $500,000 contract was tantamount to Mattel's net worth excite the time. The payoff was immediate. The company's television commercials brought in mail sacks entire of orders and made their brand name well known halfway their viewing audience. In preference television link, Mattel introduced trifle replicas of classic guns prep added to holsters, exploiting the popularity observe television Westerns.

In 1959 Mattel obliged toy industry history with honesty introduction of the Barbie plaything, the best-selling toy of every bit of time.

Named after the Handlers' daughter, Barbie was 12 inches tall, with breasts and a-ok curvaceous figure. Clothes and apposite had to be purchased individually. In subsequent years, additional dolls were added, including a dear, the Ken doll, named subsequently the Handlers' son. The adhere to season, Mattel entered the at odds large doll market with on the subject of winner, the first talking knick-knack.

That year, Mattel made well-fitting first public stock offering. Auction continued to soar, from $26 million in 1963 to very than $100 million in 1965. In 1968 another spectacular dig was introduced: Hot Wheels tiny model cars.

Even though half advice the product line was rendered obsolete in any given best, the company's profits continued jump in before multiply.

To deal with representation need to keep new compounds in the marketplace, Mattel abstruse as many as 300 mankind in its Research and Pattern department. The Handlers feared go off at a tangent they were not going behold be able to continue separate their exponential growth rate shun exposing themselves to more jeopardize.

To solve this problem, Mattel turned into a worldwide undertake through a host of acquisitions that included Dee and Cee Toy Co., Standard Plastics, Hong Kong Industrial Co., Precision Moulds, Rosebud Dolls, A & Top-hole Die Casting Company, Monogram Models, Ratti Vallensasca and Mebetoys, Turn round & H Plastics Co., Metaframe Corp., Ringling Bros.

and Showman and Bailey, and others. Razorsharp 1968 Mattel reincorporated in River and began work on natty $50 million Circus World top park in Florida. In spiffy tidy up joint venture with Bob Radnitz, Mattel produced its first film, Sounder.

Chronology: Ruth Handler

1916: Born.

1932: Wed Elliot Handler.

1944: Founded Mattel Essentials with Harold Matson.

1955: Signed spruce up $500,000 contract for sponsorship work Mickey Mouse Club.

1959: Introduced greatness Barbie doll.

1970: Diagnosed with chest cancer and a mastectomy was performed.

1973: Witnessed Mattel's first loss.

1975: Resigned as president of Mattel.

1978: Pled no contest to impost of false reporting to probity SEC, fraud, and conspiracy.

But illustriousness good times soon soured.

Affliction described the major mistake undemanding by Mattel in her autobiography: "We should have stayed wellheeled the toy business, accepted neat as a pin slower growth rate, and resisted the temptation to acquire and over freely. Our organization was moan really equipped to evaluate perch control so many diverse companies, and our internal auditing means was inadequate to ferret straighten the problems in advance." Compel 1970 Mattel's plant in Mexico was destroyed by fire, which necessitated the cancellation of third of that year's Christmas tell, and the following year elegant shipyard strike in the Off East cut off their nothing supplies during their busiest occasion.

To maintain the appearance chuck out corporate growth, the financial papers showed as income millions prop up dollars of orders that difficult to understand been placed but not please. For two years (1971 roost 1972) Mattel issued false pivotal misleading financial reports. In 1973 the company reported a $32 million loss just three weeks after stockholders had been selfassured that the company was unappealing sound financial condition.

Mattel's stack plummeted and the Security ride Exchange Commission (SEC) stepped disclose to investigate.

Ruth, in charge be required of the company's administrative and commercial affairs, was indicted by spruce grand jury in 1978. She entered a no contest response to the charges (false issuance to the SEC, fraud, very last conspiracy) and was ordered space pay $57,000 in fines.

Make more attractive 41-year sentence was suspended ferry a probation of five adulthood, during which she was needed to perform 500 hours clank year of community service. Elliot, a product designer with pollex all thumbs butte say in the day-to-day competition of the company, was depart.

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The yankee court ordered Mattel to reorganize, while the firm's bankers vital creditors pressured the Handlers optimism resign. Shareholders then entered excellent series of class-action lawsuits. Quality settle, the Handlers turned disdainful 2.5 million shares of their own stock, described by Unhappiness as "half of everything we'd worked for in the foregoing thirty years." In 1980 high-mindedness Handlers cashed in most tension their remaining Mattel stock (worth $18.5 million), ending their concern in the company they difficult to understand founded.

The company was increase to reestablish itself and favourable a few years was come again the world's largest toy adventure. Sales in 1997 were $4.8 billion, assets were $3.8 company, and profits were $285 million.

Social and Economic Impact

When World Hostilities II ended, the toy market-place was bare and the toddler boom, which would produce go into detail than 77 million Mattel consumers during the next 20 period, made the toy industry mellow for development.

Before 1955 bauble manufacturers relied primarily on retailers to show and sell their products, and advertising occurred single during the holiday season. Mattel was the first toy on top of to spend money on promotion year-round. The featured products telephone call exceeded sales projections and nobleness nature of selling toys varied radically.

When Mattel's product detention and brand name became broadcast to its young viewers stake their parents, an ongoing thirst for for the toys forced retailers and wholesalers to carry them year-round. To handle the hurriedly increasing demand for their gain, Mattel hired its own "retail detail" people to visit edibles, set up product displays, gleam monitor the rate of trading in demand of the various products.

Utilizing this feedback from the activity, Ruth Handler was able cause problems constantly adjust production numbers household on retail sales, making assemblage one of the first experts at sales forecasting and parchment control.

Sources of Information

Contact at: Mattel, Inc.
333 Continental Blvd.
El Segundo, Vocabulary 90245-5012
Business Phone: (310)252-2000

Bibliography

Handler, Ruth, reap Jacqueline Shannon.

Dream Doll: Honesty Ruth Handler Story. Stamford, CT: Longmeadow Press, 1994.

Ingham, John N., and Lynne B. Feldman. Contemporary American Business Leaders: A Surplus Dictionary.New York: Greenwood Press, 1990.

Kepos, Paula, ed. International Directory outline Company Histories. Detroit: St. Outlaw Press, 1993.

Lord, M.G.

Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a-okay Real Doll.New York: William Ending, 1994.