Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company. It was founded in 1945 by Elliot and Ruth Handler and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ... Keep Reading

Mattel, Inc. is the world's largest toy company. It was founded in 1945 by Elliot and Ruth Handler and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol MAT. Mattel designs, manufactures, markets and distributes a wide variety of toy products in over 150 countries. The company has a number of core products which include the famous Barbie Dolls, complete with clothing and accessories; Hot Wheels toy vehicles; Warner Brothers merchandise including Harry Potter, Batman, Superman and Looney Tunes products. They also product Fisher Price infant and preschool toys. The games of Scrabble and UNI are also produced by Mattel. The company's products are produced in company-owned manufacturing facilities in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and Thailand. They also utilize independent contractors for production in the United States, Mexico, Europe, the Far East and Australia.
In 1948 the company incorporated in the State of California. At this time the Handlers and an outside investor began developing a music box employing a unique mechanism. Shortage of capital and refusal of banks to loan money to a struggling young firm put the project on hold. The Handlers borrowed $20,000.00 from Ruth's brother-in-law and completed the project, and it was a winner. The music box had a patented mechanism which had continuous play because it operated only when the child turned the crank.
The Handlers learned a great deal from this success. Child participation was essential for a quality toy. Children should be able to interact with the toy and play with it for long periods of time. They also learned that a toy with lasting appeal was far superior to a short lived faddish toy.
After the phenomenal success of Barbie, Mattel entered the competitive large doll market in 1960 with Chatty Cathy, the first talking doll. That year Mattel made its first public stock offering, and by 1963 its common stock was lissted on the New York Stock Exchange.