Mattel: Your kid's next Barbies may be more expensive
AP Images / Alan Diaz
- Mattel said it may have to adjust toy prices because of President Donald Trump's tariffs on China.
- Trump hit China with a 145% tariff. The US imports nearly 80% of its toys from China.
- Mattel's CEO said he expects 40% to 50% of their products to be priced at $20 or less.
Mattel's iconic Barbies may be getting more expensive.
The California-based toy manufacturer said it may have to adjust its prices in the US to offset President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Mattel's CEO, Ynon Kreiz, said in a Monday earnings call with investors that the company was taking a three-pronged approach to offset the impact of Trump's tariffs.
"Accelerating diversification of our supply chain and further reducing reliance on China-sourced products, optimizing product sourcing and product mix, and where necessary, taking pricing action in our US business," Kreiz said.
Kreiz added that China, which Trump has hit with a 145% tariff, "continues to be an important sourcing country" for Mattel. However, the company is increasingly shifting its production to other countries, he added. Kreiz said that even with pricing adjustments, he expects the products to stay affordable.
"Under the current scenarios we are considering, we expect that 40% to 50% of our product will be priced at $20 or less," he said.
At press time, Barbie dolls listed on Target ranged from $6.99 to $174.99 in the US. The expensive dolls come with more accessories.
Last week, Trump was asked if his tariffs would result in empty store shelves. The US imports nearly 80% of its toys from China, per data from the Toy Association, a trade association for the US toy industry.
"Well, maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls, and maybe the two dolls would cost a couple of bucks more than they would normally," Trump told reporters at the White House.
Trump repeated his opinion during an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press," which aired Sunday.
"I'm just saying they don't need to have 30 dolls. They can have three. They don't need to have 250 pencils. They can have five," Trump said.
"We don't have to waste money on a trade deficit with China for things we don't need, for junk that we don't need," Trump added.
In the same interview with NBC News, Trump said he would eventually try to resolve trade tensions with China.
"At some point, I'm going to lower them because otherwise, you could never do business with them. And they want to do business very much," Trump said.
Representatives for Mattel did not respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.