Toy company Mattel has found itself in a bit of a predicament with its "Wicked" branded fashion dolls. The company was forced to pull the line of character dolls from shelves due to a package misprint. Instead of directing consumers to the official website for Universal's "Wicked" movie, the boxes featured a link to a pornographic website for a group called Wicked Pictures.
Mattel quickly issued a statement apologizing for the error and advised parents that the incorrect website was not appropriate for children. Retail giants such as Target, Walmart, and Amazon promptly removed the dolls from their online storefronts in response to the misprint. It is still unclear whether Mattel will reprint the packages or provide stickers to cover the incorrect website domain.
The mishap comes at a crucial time as Universal is gearing up for the release of the "Wicked" movie on November 22. The flood of related products hitting retail shelves is expected to bring a significant boost to the industry just in time for the holiday season. However, Mattel may see its revenue impacted by the cost of removing the dolls from circulation.
Analysts are keeping a close eye on the situation, with Jaime Katz from Morningstar noting that the impact will depend on the resolution, which is still unknown. In the meantime, resellers have taken advantage of the situation, with misprinted dolls being sold on platforms like eBay for inflated prices.
Overall, the misprint on the "Wicked" dolls has caused a stir in the toy industry, but it remains to be seen how Mattel will navigate the fallout and whether the incident will have a lasting impact on the company's bottom line.