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Making sense of the recall mess
November 9, 2007
The recall of that GHB laced toy beads was the final straw. GHB is related to the date rape drug and when ingested by children causes them to go into comas and seizures. What was it doing in a toy?
Well, I don’t know about you but I have gone progressively from being surprised to being amazed to being angry to finally just being dumbfounded. What in the hell is going on?
Well, there is, in fact, so much going on that it’s challenging to make sense of such a complicated picture.
But it’s not impossible.
So, let’s see if we can actually make some sense of it by looking for patterns. I see three major ones emerging:
- Some toy importers have lost control of the supply chain
- Mattel’s once vaunted reputation as the “gold standard” is shot
- Retailers should not be manufacturing anything
Some toy importers have lost control of the supply chain
The sheer number of recalls is far too broad to be considered a design problem or an issue with only a few providers. The problem is broad and the problem is deep. Toy importers, not the Chinese government and not the Chinese factories, are going to have to get control over every link in their supply chain or risk doing deep and permanent damage to themselves and the industry.
Mattel’s once vaunted reputation as the “gold standard” is shot
Mattel has had way too many recalls for too many reasons for it to be considered a fluke. And we are not seeing these kinds of recalls from other large manufacturers like Hasbro and Lego. It's recent recall of products made in Mexico only reinforces the notion that Mattel’s problem is bigger than China. Sadly for Mattel and the entire industry, the company’s controls have obviously broken down to the point that they demand to be viewed as a structural problem. Mattel owes it to the public, their shareholders, and the toy industry they lead to get their house in order.
Retailers should not be manufacturing anything
The number of recalls by retailers manufacturing in China (Dunkin' Donuts, Dollar General, Gymboree, Pottery Barn and KB Toys to name a few) is significant not in the number of toys but in the number of retailers involved. There is a reason manufacturers manufacture and retailers retail. It’s what they know how to do. When Dunkin’ Donuts starts making toys they are moving out of their expertise. Maybe its time for retailers to get out of the direct import business and partner with manufacturers who have proved they know what they are doing.
More later.
Posted by Richard Gottlieb on November 9, 2007 | Comments (7)
