Mattel Verses Lego Group

1. What differences or similarities do you see with the current strategy of both LEGO and Mattel?

The difference that is most prevalent to me amongst Mattel and Lego is quite obvious. Mattel has an array of toys for children with the most known being, Barbie.

On the other hand, Lego has always been an educational toy that is unisex. It is the only toy they have despite there are different variations, the core is always been a construction-toy sector. According to the New Yorker, “In the nineteen-nineties, the company tried to follow the lead of its rivals by rampantly diversifying: the products that came out of that included apparel, video games, and theme parks—all since spun off. The strategy failed, and in 2004 the company nearly went bankrupt.” (Trautman, 2013) Lego has done an exceptional job of defining their value to consumers. They have “Lego Education” which is used in some classrooms to assist in skill development and assess current knowledge by adapting their products to the classroom. (Education) They provide strategic uniqueness because Lego provides “pretense play” which is creating a narrative like Barbie saves Ken and “construction play” which is creating what you want to play with. The two plays’ mentioned above support the development of thinking skills, problem solving and creativity. Lego’s competitive advantage is on their broad and focused differentiation based on our textbook, Gamble, Thompson, & Peteraf (2015) 

Mattel on the other hand has a version of Lego, called Mega Bloks, but the price and quality are so different, there is no real competition. The affordable versions of Lego serve as an entry point to playing with the imitation, but if a family really enjoys them, they may just upgrade to the real thing. Mattel is known for their Barbie’s and Hot Wheel cars. These are toys that most children grew up with, but they are already assembled so they adapt more with pretense play. The company has differentiated itself in the sense that it partners with well-known brands, like Lucille Ball, who has her own doll and this opens another market as well which would be adults who grew up with Lucy. According to our textbook, Mattel is constantly evaluating performance and initiating corrective adjustments which allows Mattel to remain competitive and differentiates itself by constantly having an evolving strategy to ensure it is reaching all of its customers through diversification. For instance, now you can buy and Indian doll not just the traditional Caucasian Barbie.

Lego and Mattel have different strategies, but still have the same core market, children.

1. Analyze (in depth) the Vision and Mission of both, what message are they sending to employees and consumers? 

Our textbook cites, A strategic vision describes “where we are going” – the course and direction management has charted and the company’s future product customer-market-technology focus. “

Mattel’s Vision is Creating the Future of Play. “On the company’s website they describe their commitment to their visions statement by having creative and inspired employees who know that play matters.

Lego vision is, “Inventing the future of play”. Their website states they want to pioneer new ways of playing, play materials and the business models of play…it is not just about products, it is about realizing the human possibility.