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Barbie blues gave Mattel holiday disappointment

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, file photo, Barbie dolls, a Mattel product, are displayed in a Walmart store in Robinson Township, Pa. Mattel's fourth-quarter earnings released Friday Jan. 30, 2015 gave the first details on what contributed to a weak performance that led to the resignation of its chairman and CEO. Barbie sales fell 12 percent, though that wasn't as bad as the third quarter's 21 percent drop. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, file photo, Barbie dolls, a Mattel product, are displayed in a Walmart store in Robinson Township, Pa. Mattel's fourth-quarter earnings released Friday Jan. 30, 2015 gave the first details on what contributed to a weak performance that led to the resignation of its chairman and CEO. Barbie sales fell 12 percent, though that wasn't as bad as the third quarter's 21 percent drop. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

By Associated Press 2 min read

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) – Slumping sales of Barbie did little to bring a happy holiday to her maker, Mattel Inc.

Mattel’s fourth-quarter earnings release Friday gave the first details on what contributed to a weak performance that led to the resignation of its chairman and CEO.

Barbie sales fell 12 percent, though that wasn’t as bad as the third quarter’s 21 percent drop. Fisher-Price sales fell 11 percent and American Girl slipped 4 percent. Hot Wheels sales rose 5 percent.

The results for the quarter that ended Dec. 31 are important because they include the holiday season, which is a make-or-break time of year for toy makers.

Mattel’s fourth-quarter performance fell far short of Wall Street’s expectations when the toy maker provided preliminary results Monday, the same time it announced the departure of CEO Bryan Stockton.