Steve Totzke, President & Chief Commercial Officer at Mattel discusses plans for 2024 and offers a look ahead in this extended edition of The Toy Book’s 2024 State of the Industry Q&A. For our annual roundtable, The Toy Book brings together a panel of industry leaders, manufacturers, retailers, and distributors to discuss the trends, wins, challenges, and opportunities shaping the North American toy industry as it regroups after a tough year and gets ready to rock and roll. Click here to explore the series archives.

The Toy Book: What are the biggest opportunities for the overall industry this year, and how is Mattel meeting them?  

Steve Totzke: The toy industry remains critical for families and fans, and a strategic category for global retailers. 2024 and the years ahead will be monumental for Mattel as we continue working towards capturing the full value of our IP through not just toys, but also content, experiences, and associated consumer products programs.

This year also puts us less than one year out from Mattel’s 80th anniversary in 2025. To celebrate this exciting milestone, we have lots in store for fans of our iconic brands. 

As we continue to accelerate growth, we are strategizing how to best mine the portfolio and continue to extend our fans’ emotional connections to our brands, characters, franchises, and stories. 

TB: How has your retail mix evolved over the past year and how can retailers best engage with Mattel? 

ST: Mattel is extremely well-positioned to capitalize on its all-channel growth strategy. We have a broad-based lineup of innovative toys across multiple categories, play patterns, and price points. This applies to our own franchises as well as partner IP including Jurassic World, Lightyear, Disney Princess and Frozen, and recent movies, including Trolls Band Together (Universal/DreamWorks) and Wish (Disney). 

We continue to work with best-in-class retailers who are offering us increased shelf space and larger representation, and we also have a robust DTC offering through Mattel Creations, our collaboration and direct-to-consumer platform that is extremely popular among the kidult and collector categories.  

A version of this story appeared in the 2024 edition of The BIG Toy Book. Click here to read the full issue. Want a copy in print? Click here for back issues and subscription options.