Walmart and Target hold back holiday toy orders, hitting Mattel earnings

Barbie’s world just got a little less sparkly. Third-quarter results from parent company Mattel show the toy giant is feeling the pinch as it heads into the holiday season amid rising inventories and declining sales. For toy companies, the quarter just preceding the all-important holiday season functions as a preview — with Walmart and Target revealing their holiday sales estimates through their ordering patterns. If the giant retailers expect a big Christmas , they place large third-quarter orders. If th ...