Mattel CEO Georgiadis to step down, names Ynon Kreiz as CEO
Margaret Georgiadis, a former Google executive who joined the toy company in February 2017, has been unable to revive sales of the Barbie and Hot Wheels maker, despite overhauling the company's management team, suspending its dividend and developing plans to cut $650 million in costs.
The details of her departure are unclear. Mattel did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
Mattel has had a tough year, with weak sales of its iconic brands like American Girl Doll and Fisher-Price. Toys R Us' bankruptcy and liquidation also has been a drag on its earnings.
Mattel has faced slowing sales in a number of its brands in the last few years as more children gravitate toward video games and electronics instead of traditional toys.
Shares of the company fell more than 2 percent during trading on Thursday. In the last 12 months, shares have slipped more than 45 percent.
Toys R Us was Mattel's second-largest customer and and accounts for between 15 to 20 percent of U.S. Sales. Without these toy stores, Mattel will have to find other ways of showcasing its products either by going online to marketplaces like Amazon or by squeezing into big box stores.
Mattel told CNBC earlier this week that this office was not a strategic location for the brand and that most of its employees would be relocated.
In October, just after Toys R Us' bankruptcy announcement, Mattel said it planned on saving $650 million over the next two years, one-third of which it expected to save in 2018. The company recently announced that it was shuttering its New York office as part of this cost saving initiative.
This story is developing. Please check back for updates.
