By Peter Thomas

In 80 years from an innovative start-up to an industry leader with a unique portfolio of internationally renowned brands: Mattel has every reason to celebrate in 2025. On the occasion of the anniversary, ‘Spirit of Play’ spoke to Sanjay Luthra, Executive Vice President and Managing Director in the EMEA region, in the run-up to the International Toy Fair 2025.

Dear Sanjay Luthra, may we first of all congratulate Mattel to its 80th birthday in 2025?

Sanjay Luthra: Thank you! On behalf of everyone at Mattel, we are incredibly proud and humbled to reach this milestone when the life cycle of a toy brand can be 3 to 5 years. In the eight decades since, Mattel has grown into a leading global toy and family entertainment company and owner of one of the most iconic brand portfolios in the world. Mattel has been a leader in innovation and creativity. We created everything from the fashion doll category to the best-selling toys in the world, transforming not just the toy industry, but also expanding into new franchise areas.

What highlights are to be expected in 2025 relating to the company’s and brand’s jubilee? Will this outstanding birthday be celebrated?

Sanjay Luthra: We’re thrilled to unveil an incredible lineup of celebrations and collaborations to mark this monumental milestone. At the heart of our festivities is Mattel’s Red Anniversary Collection, making its grand debut right here at Nuremberg. This exclusive collection featuring the 80th-anniversary ruby gemstone with Mattel’s iconic red, includes a handpicked selection of products from our beloved brands, including Barbie, Hot Wheels, Uno, and more with a special cause-marketing campaigns working with retailers and charities across Europe. We also have some exciting collaborations and partnerships coming up which I can’t quite reveal yet, but there will be a lot of Mattel red in those collaborations as well as research into the state of play as we see it in 2024. This year 2025, we’re bringing the transformative power of play to children and families worldwide like never before.

How much of the start-up spirit from 1945 is to be found today in Mattel, one of the world's biggest and most successful toy companies?

Sanjay Luthra: This is such a great question because this is something that we are incredibly passionate about and one of the reasons I attribute to Mattel’s success. Innovation is at the heart of everything we do, and that was the start up spirit of our founders. Pioneers and entrepreneurs, their focus on creativity and innovation forever changed how kids play. The company was born in a California garage in 1945 as a collaboration between founders Ruth and Elliot Handler, and Harold “Matt” Matson. They were designers and engineers whose collective focus on creativity and innovation forever changed how kids play.  The sign above the garage said ‘Mattel Creations’, which coincidentally is the name of our DTC premium site today. 

What are some of your Mattel key dates over the years that you da consider particularly important?

Sanjay Luthra:  There are so many of course. We are so lucky to have a rich history but if I was to choose four, I would say: 
1945: Mattel was founded!
1959-1968: Barbie and Hot Wheels were created, becoming best selling toys of all time 
1980s: Expansion into Global Markets and Iconic Collaborations – Mattel expanded globally, establishing offices worldwide and launching brands like Masters of the Universe and Polly Pocket. In this period, Mattel solidified its approach to building franchises and collaborating with other cultural icons. 
2023: The feature film Barbie took the world by storm, turning the world pink. Barbie earned over $1.4 billion worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing movie of 2023 and Warner Bros.’ highest-grossing film of all time.

What role do the European markets play for Mattel in 2025? Any specific challenges or chances?

Sanjay Luthra: Mattel EMEA is the largest international region after the US and an important part of the company from a cultural and expansion perspective. EMEA is a vibrant and diverse region and we’re delighted to work with our European retailers and partners to service consumers in the different ways and forms they want to receive our products and experiences. The challenge can be sometimes in the level of localisation that is needed and compliance for the multitude of different countries, but we are set up in a way that all these factors are taken into account. You can also call it an opportunity; As a diverse region, we are faced with muti currency, inflation, multi culture. You cannot take as one market. The French consumer and German consumer is so different. You need to customise your go to market strategy. But that’s a great advantage when you have great local teams to do this. 

What drives Mattel in 2025 in general and worldwide, what ideas fuel development?

Sanjay Luthra: As a company, our mission is to create innovative products and experiences that inspire fans, entertain audiences, and develop children through play. Toy will always be a foundation of what we do but in 2025 we also go beyond toys. Our offerings include content, consumer products, digital and live experiences. People who buy our products are not just consumers, they're fans. Once you realize that you have an audience, a world of opportunity opens up movies, TV shows, digital and live experiences. The key to Mattel’s success has been our unwavering commitment to our mission: to empower generations to explore the wonder of childhood and reach their full potential. 

Mattel has many strong brands. What interfaces and overlaps are there between the individual segments? For example, attractive licenses with products for different game worlds?

Sanjay Luthra: We see it more as a collection and portfolio of brands which collectively sit well together. We are global leaders and excel at multiple toy categories which is why our partners from licensed brands turn to us to produce and market their toys as best in class. We strongly believe in those best in class collaborations with partners.

What challenges do you see for the second half of the 2020s with regard to topics such as digitalization, interaction with fan communities and the kidults trend?

Sanjay Luthra: Rather than challenges I would talk about opportunities. As everyone knows in the industry, adult fans is the fastest growing segment in the toy industry. So the question is how high is high? You need the right set of brands and access to communities in order to connect with this new type of consumer. Our popular toys among adult buyers parallel our most popular owned IP - Hot Wheels, Barbie, American Girl, Monster High, MOTU, and UNO while expanding into all new collector lines for Matchbox, Little People, Polly Pocket and more. We also get to collaborate with our Entertainment Studio partners to create toys for adult buyers from their own popular IP, including Disney Princess, Universal’s Wicked, WB’s Harry Potter, WWE and more. Mattel is heavily investing in Kidults, having launched collaborations under our Mattel Creations platform to cater to a sophisticated and nostalgic adult fanbase.

What are your highlights at Spielwarenmesse 2025?

Sanjay Luthra: Our #1 priority at this show is to connect with our retailers and partners. At Mattel we’re committed to working hand in hand with our retailers, to listen and support them in every possible way to ensure their success and be the best partner. The show allows us to bring everyone together and showcase the depth and breadth of our innovative offering across all of our brands in one place which is both helpful and efficient to both us and our customers.

About the author

Telling stories about technology and people: that’s what has been fascinating Peter Thomas, the journalist, author, cultural studies researcher and lecturer, for more than 30 years. He has consistently focused on tech toys, from building sets to interactive digital educational toys. Having studied and worked as a research associate at university, Peter Thomas writes for daily newspapers, magazines and corporate publications in the German and English-speaking world. In addition to the world of play, he specialises in covering mobility, security, energy and medical technology.