Barbie has the wind taken out its sales 11 November 2015London Reporter: Drew Nicol
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Barbie, the iconic children’s toy, has not aged well in recent years and its producer, Mattel, is now the target of short sellers during the festive period, according to Markit.
The shift to electronic toys and missing out on lucrative merchandise licences has meant Mattel has fallen behind its rivals Hasbro and Vtech.
Hasbro especially has managed to take the wind of Mattel’s sails this Christmas by signing a lucrative deal with Disney for the much sought after merchandise of the hugely success Frozen franchise.
The Barbie franchise has seen its annual sales figures fall for a third consecutive year.
Short sellers, according to Markit data, are predicting further problems for Mattel, as demand to borrow shares soared to an all-time high of 22 percent of shares outstanding.
This marks a staggering 20-fold jump in short interest from the same point last year.
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