Yabba Dabba Dough! Tariffs Threaten Barbie's Dream House!

Great Gazoo's Got Me Confused!

Yabba Dabba Doo! Fred Flinstone here reporting live from Bedrock! Now I'm no financial whiz like Mr. Slate but even *I* can see there's trouble brewin' at the toy store. Seems these 'tariffs' – which sound suspiciously like those sticky tar pits we keep finding Wilma's car in – are makin' it tough for Mattel the folks who make Barbie. Barbie! You know the doll Wilma secretly buys for Pebbles even though she says she's too old for dolls. Heh! Now these tariffs thanks to that Trump fella are makin' it more expensive to get things from other places especially China. And that's makin' Mattel sweat like I do when I gotta explain why the bowling ball ended up in the swimming pool...again!

Barney! Where's My Discount?!

So what's a caveman to do? Well Mattel says they might have to raise prices on some of their toys here in the good ol' U.S. of A.! Can you believe it? More clams outta my pocket! And to make matters worse they're even cuttin' back on promotions and discounts! Discounts I tell ya! That's like taking away my bronto burger on payday! I tell ya Barney's gonna be even MORE upset if he can't get his niece Betty a good deal on a new Barbie Dreamhouse. He loves those deals!

Dino Sized Dilemma!

Ynon Kreiz the big cheese at Mattel told some fancy news folks that these tariffs are causing all sorts of disruption. Some companies are even stoppin' production and shippin' because of all the palaver. Mattel gets about half of its toy sales from the U.S. and they get about 20% of their stuff from China. It's a whole heap of problems!

Rock Bottom Savings!

Now it ain't all doom and gloom. Mattel is tryin' to save some rocks by cuttin' costs. They're hopin' to save 80 million clams up from 60 million. That's a lotta bronto ribs! Maybe they should try gettin' a discount from the Water Buffalo Lodge. They could sure use the money!

From Barbies to Hot Wheels

It ain't just China. Mattel gets stuff like Barbie dolls and those Hot Wheels toys from other places like Indonesia Malaysia and Thailand too. Seems like everyone's gettin' a piece of this tariff pie and it ain't a sweet one. This could take years to smooth out. As long as the tariffs get put aside and business can get back to normal

Yabba Dabba...Buyback?

Now here's a head scratcher. Even with all this tariff trouble Mattel bought back a bunch of their own shares! $160 million worth! I don't know what that means exactly but it sounds like they're puttin' their money where their mouth is. Maybe they're hopin' Barbie can charm those tariffs away with her dazzling smile! Either way I hope they figure it out soon before Pebbles starts askin' for a raise in her allowance! Yabba Dabba Doo!