Gifts / Sports & Toys

On July 20, Mattel reached a multi-year cooperation agreement with the American commercial space company (SpaceX) owned by Musk. The former will develop related space exploration-themed toys based on the SpaceX launch vehicle. The first products will be launched in 2023 by Mattel's well-known brand, Matchbox, on its own D2C (direct-to-consumer) platform, Mattel Creations.

Musk is the CEO of the famous Tesla (TESLA), the CEO and CTO of SpaceX, and the chairman of the board of directors of SolarCity. According to the "2021 Hurun Global Rich List" released by the Hurun Research Institute, Musk became the world's richest man for the first time with a fortune of 1.28 trillion yuan.

"With space exploration advancing faster than ever, we're excited to partner with SpaceX to help inspire limitless play for every child's space explorer," Nick Karamanos, Mattel's senior vice president of entertainment partnerships, said in the release. model."

It is reported that this is the first time that SpaceX has cooperated with a toy company. In the past, SpaceX's peripheral products were limited to clothing. After cooperation with Mattel, it will be involved in plush, dolls, building blocks, etc.

The collectibles market has become an area of potential for Mattel, as well as toy companies including Hasbro and Funko, so exclusive licensing of specific pop culture brands with clear fan bases has become increasingly important. This isn't the first time Mattel and Musk-owned businesses have partnered to license toys. As early as early 2020, Mattel launched two remote-controlled toy cars based on Tesla's Cybertruck electric pickup, which is known as the most sci-fi "pickup" in history.

In terms of aerospace-themed collaborations, Mattel partnered with the International Space Station National Laboratory a few months ago to send two Barbie dolls into space, encouraging girls to consider aerospace, engineering and STEM careers.