Company background

The Year: 1959

The Place: The New York Toy Show.

The Barbie Doll Debut……….

And the rest is History.

Mattel's Beginning:

    Mattel was formed in 1945. Its founders were Ruth and Elliott Handler and Harold "Matt" Matson (Mattel is a combination of Elliott and Matt's names). The company started out in wood products and soon branched out into toys. Their very first toy was dollhouse furniture created from wood scraps left over from frame making. The Handlers bought out Matson long before Barbie was created.

A Brief History of Mattel:

    Mattel sold toys through the 1950s, including wood and musical toys. Mattel became a household name with parents and children alike with the introduction of Barbie in 1959, at Toy Fair in New York. The Handlers were brilliant marketers, and used television advertising on children's television shows to expertly market Barbie and a host of their other products directly to children. Barbie's popularity declined at the end of the 1960s, and so did Mattel's fortunes, and Mattel nearly went bankrupt. Through constant re-invention of Barbie and the rising popularity of lines including Hot Wheels, the company thrives today.

THE BARBIE FAMILY TREE

    The immediate family prior to 1992: BARBIE, SKIPPER(Sister), TUTTI & TODD(twin sister & brother)

The immediate family after 1992: BARBIE, SKIPPER(sister), STACIE & TODD(twin sister & brother), KELLY(baby sister)  

Following is a list of the dolls made during various time periods. Following each name is the years of production and then the relationship of each doll to Barbie.

1959-1965 THE EARLY YEARS

BARBIE 1959-present

KEN 1961-present, Barbie’s boyfriend

MIDGE 1963-66, Barbie’s friend

ALLAN 1964-65, Ken’s friend

SKIPPER 1964-present, Barbie’s sister

SKOOTER 1965-66, Skipper’s friend

RICKY 1965, Skipper’s friend

1965-1970 THE MOD ERA

TUTTI 1966-69, Barbie’s baby sister, Tutti & Todd are twins

TODD 1966-67, Barbie’s baby brother

FRANCIE 1966-76, Barbie’s modern cousin

CHRIS 1967, Tutti’s friend

CASEY 1967 & 1974 Francie’s friend

CHRISTIE 1968-present, Barbie’s friend

STACEY 1968-70, Barbie’s friend

PJ 1969-1985, Barbie’s friend

BRAD 1970, Ken’s friend

JAMIE 1970-72, Barbie’s friend

1971-1976 THE MALIBU ERA

FLUFF 1971, Skipper’s friend

TIFF 1972, Skipper’s friend

STEFFI 1972, Barbie’s friend

KELLEY 1973-74, Barbie’s friend

CARA 1975-76, Barbie’s friend

CURTIS 1976, Ken’s friend

GINGER 1976, Skipper’s friend

THE 1980’S SUPERSTAR, DISCO, ROCK ERA

SCOTT 1980, Skipper’s friend

TRACY 1983 Bride Doll

TODD 1983 Groom Doll

DANA 1986-87 Barbie’s friend

DEE DEE 1986-87 Barbie’s friend

DEREK 1986-87 Ken’s friend

DIVA 1986-87 Barbie’s friend

MIKO 1986-89 Barbie’s friend

WHITNEY 1987-1989 Barbie’s friend

MIDGE 1988-present, Barbie’s friend

BECKY 1988 Barbie’s friend

BELINDA 1988 Barbie’s friend

BOPSY 1988 Barbie’s friend

STEVEN 1988-present, Ken’s friend

TERESA 1988-present, Barbie’s friend

DEVON 1989, Barbie’s friend

JAZZIE 1989-1993, Barbie’s cousin

CHELSIE 1989, Jazzie’s friend

DUDE 1989, Jazzie’s friend

STACIE 1989, Jazzie’s friend

COURTNEY 1989-present, Skipper’s friend

KAYLA 1989 & 1994, Barbie’s friend

NIKKI 1989, Barbie’s friend

THE 90’S NEW FAMILY LITTLE KIDS

STACIE 1992-present, Barbie’s new sister

TODD 1991, 1993-1994, Barbie’s new brother, twin to Stacie

KELLY 1995, Barbie’s new baby sister

JANET 1994, Stacie’s friend

WHITNEY 1994, Stacie’s friend

BECKY 1996-present, Kelly’s friend

CHELSIE 1996-present, Kelly’s friend

MELODY 1996-present, Kelly’s friend

DEIDRE 1997-present, Kelly’s friend

JENNY 1997-present, Kelly’s friend

MARISSA 1997-present, Kelly’s friend

TOMMY 1997-present, Kelly’s friend

THE 90’S FRIENDS ADULTS

KIRA 1990, Barbie’s friend

NIA 1990, Barbie’s friend

KEVIN 1990-95, Skipper’s friend

ALAN 1991, Ken’s friend

SHANI 1991-94, Barbie’s friend

ASHA 1991-1993, Shani’s friend

NICHELLE 1991-93, Shani’s friend

JAMAL 1992-1993, Shani’s boyfriend

TARA LYNN 1993, Barbie’s friend

BECKY 1997-present, Barbie’s friend

NIKKI 1997, Skipper’s friend

Mattel is a Publicly Traded Company:

Mattel is a publicly traded company. Its stock is traded by the NYSE with the symbol MAT.

Company Headquarters:

The company is located in Hawthorne, California.

Company Reach:

    Mattel's dolls and toys are sold in nearly every country in the world. Mattel has roughly fifty offices located in North and South America, Europe and Asia.

 Reference

http://www.dolls4play.com/barbiehistory.html

http://collectdolls.about.com/od/barbiemodern/p/mattel.htm