New York — Mattel tumbled after a surprisingly sharp sales decline, leaving new CEO Margo Georgiadis racing to overhaul the maker of Barbie and Fisher-Price. In the wake of the dismal results, which included a deeper net loss, Georgiadis vowed to increase the company’s cost-cutting plan threefold and suspend Mattel’s dividend. The payout to shareholders had already been slashed by about 60% earlier in 2017. The bankruptcy of Toys R Us torpedoed sales, especially in North America. And the company is still reeling from the loss of its Disney Princess franchise to Hasbro in recent years. Barbie, Mattel’s biggest product, also has been attempting a comeback — with uneven results. "We’re completely reinventing Mattel and making the tough decisions necessary to jump-start growth and profitability," Georgiadis said in an interview. "2017, in my view, is a reset year for Mattel. We will start to see the benefits of the transformation into 2018." Georgiadis, who joined the company in Februar...
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