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Toyota Facing Huge PR Problem After Recalls

Brian White — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Ford Motor (F), Marketing and Advertising, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

In light of Toyota Motor Corp. (TM) string of recalls recently, one can wonder what the large automaker is going to do in the U.S. to salvage its reputation. Toyota, as far as this writer can recall, has never seen a model-variety recall like this in its history. So much is wrong that the world's largest automaker has halted production of eight separate vehicle models until it finds out just what is causing some of them to accelerate uncontrollably.

Five assembly lines that help build these models are being suspended as of Monday, and Toyota has sent messages to 1,200 U.S. dealers asking them to stop selling the models in question immediately. The models include some of Toyota's most popular: RAV4, Corolla, Matrix, Avalon, Camry, Highlander and the Tundra pickup.

Continue reading Toyota Facing Huge PR Problem After Recalls

Toyota Facing Huge PR Problem After Recalls originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 29 Jan 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Guerilla consumer groups testing toys for lead in stores

Sarah Gilbert — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:02:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Consumer Experience, Technology

Worried about the honesty and effectiveness of the toy-screening conducted by major toy manufacturers and retailers? Zap 'em yourself with a Niton X-ray fluorescence analyzer, or XRF gun. That's what many consumer groups, including the Center for Environmental Health and HealthyToys.org, do in the continuing struggle to keep dangerous toys off retailer's shelves. The handheld guns go for $25,000 and emit mini x-rays which strike the toy; the "elements in that sample emit return rays with frequencies that indicate which elements are present and in what amounts."

Retailers and manufacturers are not pleased, contending that such guerilla testing is a poor manner of assessing a toy's safety. But the XRF gun is what the CPSC itself uses to test toys, which consumer groups point to as evidence that the technology is appropriate. (The CPSC goes on to send toys that read hot to a third-party laboratory for verification.) And anyway: this manner of testing actually uncovers toys which are toxic, much better than the CPSC's old strategy: go to stores, and look for the ones with bright colors (more likely to be tainted with lead). A comparison of the two strategies showed the XRF gun screening to have a far higher discovery rate, though of course many items that had high readings on the XRF gun were shown to be safe after further lab testing.

But who wants consumer advocacy groups out looking for bad toys? Certainly not the toy companies, who can only stand to be hurt by the increased scrutiny and "fear-mongering." In a column published earlier today I wrote about my concern over the fate of small toymakers given the impending effective date of the CPSIA. I can't exactly shed big tears, then, for the bigger manufacturers and importers who might be hurt by the discovery of toxins (even if the alarm bells ring a bit too loudly and too soon). The two manners of dealing with the toxic toy issue -- attacking it in the streets with ray guns, or clamping a shackle of expensive testing around each toy before it hits the market -- both seem wrong-headed, one too reactive, the other too proactive. Isn't there a better middle ground?

Guerilla consumer groups testing toys for lead in stores originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 16:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mama on the Street: Mattel vs. the little guy in toy toxins

Sarah Gilbert — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:28:00 EST

Filed under: Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

Today may have been ignominious for toymaker Mattel (NYSE: MAT) as its Fisher Price unit paid $12 million in a settlement to make up for its role in allowing toys containing lead to be delivered to retailers and consumers across the U.S. However, Mattel and its big competitors, like Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), may be enjoying the fruits of the scandals next year as new laws meant to protect consumers from the toxins in lead paint and the plastic toxin known as phthalates effectively remove its small competition from the marketplace.

Because in order to comply with the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), effective February 10, 2009, all toymakers must pay a testing fee of $4,000 per type of toy they make, as well as permanently labeling them with a batch number and date (requiring them to create new molds in many cases). While this $4,000 fee will be barely felt by huge toymakers such as Mattel and Hasbro, it will annhilate the growing handmade toy industry in the U.S. and, for many importers, end their relationships with U.S. consumers. German wood toy maker Selecta Spielzeug has already announced its intention to pull its toys from the U.S. market, effective December 31. In a statement, the company said its retail prices would have to increase "by at least 50 percent, which would price these products out of the market." Small toymakers, such as the little company which sells wooden shields at a wholesale price of $7, would be out of business, as would nearly every other small American, Canadian and European toy company, according to the Handmade Toy Alliance. What's more, it could decimate Etsy, a marketplace for handmade goods.

The potential results of this act are so frightening and amazingly efficient I am left to wonder if it was drafted by the big toy manufacturers themselves. "We'll pay $12 million," I can imagine executives telling each other, "and we'll appear mollified by the government. Chastened and ready to return to the hallowed work of making toys for good little girls and boys."

Continue reading Mama on the Street: Mattel vs. the little guy in toy toxins

Mama on the Street: Mattel vs. the little guy in toy toxins originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Dec 2008 08:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hasbro (HAS) Q1 profit rises on strong international sales

Eliza Popescu — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:45:00 EST

Filed under: Earnings Reports, Good news, Launches, Consumer Experience, Mattel, Inc (MAT), Hasbro Inc (HAS)

Shares of world's second biggest toy company Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) have been been rallying in early trading after the company reported better-than-expected first quarter earnings, as its strong international business was able to offset declining domestic sales.

Hasbro said that its profit jumped 14% to $37.5 million, or 25 cents per share, helped by strong sales in its Transformers and Littlest Pet Shop lines. These numbers are up from $32.9 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected earnings of 14 cents.

The toymaker also posted posted a respectable growth of 13% for its first-quarter revenue, which climbed to $704.2 million from $625.3 million. During the period, Hasbro benefited from the weak dollar which was a major driver for its international sales. The company saw overseas sales rise 22% to $248.3 million while revenue in the U.S. and Canada rose only 6% to $428.5 million. Analysts expected $582.2 million in sales in the first quarter, according to Reuters Estimates.

Continue reading Hasbro (HAS) Q1 profit rises on strong international sales

Hasbro (HAS) Q1 profit rises on strong international sales originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Parents Magazine warns of toy cell phone recall

Gary Sattler — Sun, 06 May 2007 10:40:00 EST

Filed under: Bad News, Press Releases, Products and Services, Consumer Experience

The Consumer Products Safety Commission, in conjunction with Parents Magazine, has announced the recall of some 300,000 Record-A-Voice toy cell phones. It has been reported to the manufacturer that at least 54 of the toy units have become unhinged, then releasing a metal hinge pin which poses a choking hazard to children.

The toy cell phones were sold through Target stores September 2006 through January 2007, and the recall applies only to certain manufacturing date codes. The date codes of 090106 through 101206 are specified in the CPSC news release. Worthy of note is the fact that the potentially dangerous toy cell phones were manufactured in China by Battat Inc. of Plattsburgh, NY.

Please take these toy cell phones away from young children immediately and contact Battat to receive a replacement product or refund. See the Consumer Product Safety Commission news release.

Oh, and remind the kids not to eat pet food with Chinese wheat gluten in it. We hear that stuff is dangerous also.

Parents Magazine warns of toy cell phone recall originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 May 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Will Ford's Jaguar division ever rise from the ashes?

Brian White — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 18:25:00 EST

Filed under: Deals, Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, Daimler (DAI), Ford Motor (F), General Motors (GM), Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

Will anything good come out of the Detroit Auto Show? If you were Ford (NYSE:F) last week, maybe so -- as the hit of the show according to Forbes was Jaguar XF -- and we all know that Ford bought Jaguar for over $2.5 billion more than ten years ago and has since then tried to revive the brand over and over again -- to very little success.

Ford's Jaguar division sold only 20,683 cars in the U.S. last year, including 5,875 of the S Type sedan. I wonder what the worldwide numbers were? Some estimates are at the 50,000 level -- for the entire year.

Where is Jaguar marketed? mostly in two countries, where the brand sells 80% of its cars. Britain and the U.S. account for those two countries -- but can Jaguar as a brand ever become successful unless it sells in a more diversified fashion over countries and pumps up the volume with cutting-edge marketing and the incredibly stylish design that it was known for? Matching the sophistication and handling of rival models from BMW and Mercedes will not be easy by a long shot.

Will Ford's Jaguar division ever rise from the ashes? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Jan 2007 18:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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CEO Wagoner vows to defend GM against Toyota's attack

Brian White — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 11:15:00 EST

Filed under: Before the Bell, Products and Services, Industry, Consumer Experience, Competitive Strategy, General Motors (GM), Marketing and Advertising, Toyota Motor Corp. (TM)

With December automotive sales results coming in this week, General Motors Corporation(NYSE:GM) still held on to the top spot, with Ford Motor Company(NYSE:F) -- even with declining sales -- capturing the second spot, followed by the venerable Toyota Motor Corporation (ADR)(NYSE:TM). Japan's largest carmaker still seems rather intent on capturing the top sales spot worldwide from GM, and it very well may do that in 2007. In fact, Toyota's sales growth in 2006 beat just about everybody worldwide by a large margin.

Is GM in trouble of losing a symbolic #1 sales spot among global automakers? If GM CEO Rick Wagoner has anything to say, it's that GM will do everything in its power to not let that happen (although there is not much meaning outside of a symbolic ranking -- but that can affect a dizzying array of other factors).

Wagoner yesterday indicated that his company has room for growth worldwide (where, I wonder?) and will forcefully defend its title from the main challenger, Toyota. "I like being No. 1, and I think our people take pride in it ... it's not something we're going to sit back and let somebody else pass us by." Them's fightin' words.

Toyota has said that it wants to produce 9.42 million vehicles in 2008 -- which means that it is more likely that it will surpass GM at that point based on the 9.2 million vehicles GM is estimated to have produced just last year.

CEO Wagoner vows to defend GM against Toyota's attack originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Jan 2007 11:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2006, the year in packaging: Mattel gets thumbs down from this family

Sarah Gilbert — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:49:00 EST

Filed under: Consumer Experience, Blogs, Rants and Raves, Mattel, Inc (MAT)

A few weeks ago, I ranted and raved about the danger in which I put myself and my children when I struggle to open their toys' packages. I received a lot of comments from like-minded individuals. My favorite: "I am a service tech (HVAC)and a father of three, and the first thing I do when it is time to open the holiday gifts is make my way out to my service van and grab my tool bag ... The best tool for you to have is a set of wire cutters, linemans pliers, needle nose pliers, dikes or some form of plier with a wire cutter on it." Great! So all we need is a fully-equipped industrial-strength tool box.

My children, as they're quite cute and I can't resist them, received several new toys this year, nearly all from Mattel, Inc. (NYSE:MAT)'s Fisher Price unit. I thought I was exaggerating, just a little bit, when I mentioned hunting knives and threat of bodily harm when I wrote my original piece. But no.

One package, that holding the Diego Talking Rescue 4x4 (for which I paid $15.99 at Fred Meyer), took three adults about 15 minutes to open. One metal-reinforced twisty in particular was so well-wrapped that both my dad and I worked on it. Dad got out his new utility hunting knife, bought at Baker's General Store by my mom for a stocking stuffer. The twisty tie broke his knife. To quote Dave Barry, I am not making this up.

Another toy, the Little People Lil' Movers Dump Trucks (suggested ages: one year old), took me over 20 minutes to untwist from its packaging. It only has three pieces, but yet it must have had six or eight twisties, all tied and bent and threaded so securely that I almost gave up and returned the darned thing.

Mattel! What are you thinking? What good could possibly come of this ultra-secure packaging?

Continue reading 2006, the year in packaging: Mattel gets thumbs down from this family

2006, the year in packaging: Mattel gets thumbs down from this family originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 27 Dec 2006 20:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Wrap Rage: indestructible packaging, endless twisties turn nursery into war zone

Sarah Gilbert — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 09:32:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Consumer Experience, Rants and Raves, Target Corp. (TGT)

I remember how innocent I was, long before I was a parent. Do you remember that time? When you were young, perhaps it was the 80s, or the early 90s. You imagined bringing a baby into your home one day, certainly, it was far off in the future but the image was clear, if a bit soft-focused around the edges: all was fuzzy, wuzzy, warm, soft, and gentle. If you imagined your home with a kitchen, in fact, the knives were all tucked safely away in a hand-oiled maple block somewhere, way, way back on the counter.

[Big sound of brakes squeaking, wheels skidding, cars smashing into walls, screams...]

And then, I became a parent in the new millennium. And my world was filled with the most fearsome, warlike cutting implements. Industrial-strength scissors that came apart at the hinge so you could sharpen them daily. Hunting knives with a whetting stone, glistening next to the sink (where I keep my gentle organic hand soap). A typical day in my first child's infancy might find my knuckles raw, my fingers calloused, battle wounds all over my fingers.

I'd been faced with my children's toy packaging.

Continue reading Wrap Rage: indestructible packaging, endless twisties turn nursery into war zone

Wrap Rage: indestructible packaging, endless twisties turn nursery into war zone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 04 Dec 2006 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Mattel fighting dirty to survive this holiday season

Sarah Gilbert — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:34:00 EST

Filed under: Products and Services, Law, Mattel, Inc (MAT)

Barbie is inviolate. Girls since the beginning of time (let's be clear: time didn't start, toywise, until the Barbie) have begged for Barbies, and no more time more loudly and earnestly than at Christmas. Even my four-year-old, mud-puddle-jumping, super-hero-adoring son wants a Barbie.

That was. Until Bratz came along. For the past few years Mattel, Inc. (NYSE:MAT) has been fighting tooth and nail to keep up with the overly-madeup, hiphop bad girls with the big heads. Where Barbie is too curvaceous, Bratz are too too -- too street, too saucy. If Barbie represents the unrealistic dimensions of a Vogue model, Bratz represent the unwanted idealization of a girl who hangs out at a strip mall when she should be in government class, spends her allowance on collagen lip injections, and dates a rapper twice her age.

Barbie sales have been falling in the past several years thanks to the formidably mispelled bad girls of the fashion doll world. They attempted to combat closely-held MGA Entertainment, Inc., who manufactures the Bratz dolls, in the marketplace by positioning its My Scene dolls to compete directly (although MGA sued Mattel last year, claiming that Mattel had changed the My Scene dolls to imitate Bratz too closely). When that didn't work so well, they brought out the big guns: an IP lawsuit.

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Mattel fighting dirty to survive this holiday season originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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