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To: esecurities(tm) who wrote (3227)	4/15/1999 1:41:00 PM
From: esecurities(tm)	Respond to of 4231

INTERNET (esecurities.W) April 15, 1999 - "Toy Joy For Hasbro, Mattel Has Trouble" NEW YORK (Reuters) - "In the latest round of the toy wars, Furby and the Teletubbies beat up Barbie and her friend Tickle Me Elmo. The world's No. 2 toymaker, Hasbro Inc. (AMEX:HAS - news), reported a whopping 75 percent increase in first-quarter profits Thursday, while its even bigger rival Mattel was announcing a net loss of $17.9 million and over 3,000 job cuts. Wall Street was confident Hasbro's fortunes would improve even more in the second quarter, since the Rhode Island-based company owns the rights to action figures and other products tied in with the highly-anticipated first episode of the new ''Star Wars'' movie trilogy. In addition, speaking Furby dolls will be released in five languages and Hasbro said it should start to see cost savings from its global integration plan. Hasbro, which also markets Playskool toys and dolls from the successful pre-school TV show ''Teletubbies,'' saw its shares over $3.375 higher at $33.50 in morning trading, well above the prior 52-week high of $30.81. Hasbro's sales to Toys R Us Inc. (NYSE:TOY - news) stores rose almost 30 percent in the first quarter, excluding sales from its lucrative Tiger Electronics acquisition, the company said in a conference call. Tiger makes the interactive Furby pets, which were the most sought-after toy last Christmas, just as Mattel's Tickle Me Elmo was the Christmas before...''During the first quarter, normally a slow season, an average of 250,000 talking Furbys were sold each week,'' Chief Executive Officer Alan Hassenfeld said in the conference call. ''Demand is so strong that some retailers are air-freighting Furby.'' By contrast, it was ''trouble in toyland'' for Mattel, despite the fact that its worldwide shipment of all dolls, including Barbie, was up 26 percent. Los Angeles-based Mattel, the world's biggest toymaker, whose products include Barbie and Hot Wheels, reported a first-quarter net loss equivalent to 7 cents per share -- better than estimates by Wall Street analysts, who had expected an 8-cent loss. However, that compared with net income of $12.7 million, or 4 cents per share, in last year's quarter, when Tickle Me Elmo reigned. Net sales for the quarter were $692.1 million, down 2 percent from $705.2 million in 1998. As part of its drive to reduce overhead and advertising spending and realign operations, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jill Barad said some facilities would be closed and there would be a reduction of over 3,000 positions. She gave no further details. The merger of Mattel and Learning Co. Inc. , which the companies expect to complete next month, should also result in additional cost savings, she said. Barad said Mattel expects to incur a pre-tax charge of approximately $300 million to $350 million, to be taken in the 1999 second quarter. She said the company expected to save approximately $50 million in 1999 and at least $400 million over the following three years. Barad also announced that Mattel will spend $50 million on a new Internet initiative, which is expected to result in the creation of a new subsidiary later this year, a portion of which may be offered to the public." SOURCE: &copy 1999 Thursday April 15 12:13 PM ET dailynews.yahoo.com

To: esecurities(tm) who wrote (3227)	4/15/1999 1:49:00 PM
From: esecurities(tm)	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4231

INTERNET (esecurities.W) April 15, 1999 - Mattel:$50M to Launch Online Venture, Internet Subsidiary LOS ANGELES, April 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Mattel, Inc. (NYSE: MAT - news) today announced that the company will spend an initial $50 million to launch an Internet venture, which is expected to result in the creation of a new subsidiary later this year, a portion of which may be offered to the public. ''Upon completion of our merger with The Learning Company, which is expected next month, Mattel will be uniquely positioned to succeed on the Internet,'' Jill E. Barad, Mattel's chairman and chief executive officer, said. ''Our vision is to create a premier online destination and E-commerce site to better serve children and their families...''Together with The Learning Company we operate over 80 web sites, and we begin this venture with a 25 million-name database of consumers who already trust our many proprietary brands,'' she said. ''We see tremendous synergies to be achieved by harnessing all of this brand power at one Internet destination. ''We will provide superior customer service, offering many of our software and toy products, as well as new downloadable electronic software, through the convenience of one shopping cart,'' she said. ''And we will fulfill orders through the $1 billion combined existing capacity of The Learning Company, Pleasant Company and Mattel,'' Barad said. ''This strategy will be a win/win for our traditional retailers, E-tailers and Mattel, as we employ new cooperative concepts that will benefit us all,'' Barad said..." SOURCE: &copy 1999 Thursday April 15, 9:05 am Eastern Time biz.yahoo.com