Peter Kuo & Mattel’s Barbie

Peter Kuo & Mattel’s Barbie

Written by Li-Chang Kuo

In the period of 1980s, as my journey of social service unfolded, it had a particular memory that I accompanied with a famous toy—‘Barbie Doll’ from 1982 to the earlier 1986, watched the renewal Barbie climbing from the bottom to the top of the world. Everything was like God's arrangement to assign me help this Mattel Inc., and rely on the natural gift of knowledge, wisdom and sincerity to assist them to pass through the Valley of Baca, and make it a place of springs. The amazing stories had been circulated around Taipei, people gradually knew the said company where manufacturing such well-known products in Taishan; and meanwhile, I won a nickname, ‘Mr. Barbie.’

When I started the social service since 1982, the first idea came up over mind was ‘Upgrading the Industries,’ unfortunately, Taiwan was full of second-hand industry to pretend as ‘technological industry’--it is only the sort of industry doing assemble matters without challenge. But I found out that famous Barbie’s Mattel Inc. seems into plight after searching the traditional industry. Indeed, the gate’s guard of Mattel Limited Taiwan (MLT) saw me and asked the first sentence: "They’re preparing to close, why you are coming here now?” I responded, “To rescue Barbie!”

Barbie Doll was launched in 1959; two decades or more gone away, old state has been revealed—not Barbie herself, but the aging of the workers. Barbie’s charming face was elaborately done by the make-up affairs; the tool of make-up was named ‘Painting Mask’ which required good eyesight to be able to fabricate the sophisticated mask. The aging the sight losing to actuate the sense of crisis—if there were new fabricators, the old ones might be laid off—this became a big situation, and as a vicious cycle to run in the enterprise. So someone suggested that “To develop the remote control and electronic toys," and the results were getting worse and worse.

The United States experienced the era of frustration and disappointment in the 1970s, Dr. William E. Deming (1900-1993) proclaimed that ‘Japan, the Best’ and ‘If Japan can... Why can't we?’ Not only harm the pride of American, but also harm American girls' dream – the elegance of Barbie doll was to push down by Japanese style dolls. Although, Mattel had a very excellent marketing team, but they’re still to mislead by the engineering staff. An enterprise’s core competence at mechanical toy tried to turn the operation to unknown industry of ‘remote control and electronic’ that was very dangerous and the tragic fate could be imagined. Nevertheless, I assured that the problems included ‘head, hair, face, body, leg and leg armature’ all can be solved as I looked into the production at my first glance, because these improvements for Barbie were much easier if compared to create Taiwan’s precision industry from nothing.

Upgrading the industry continuously is the way of keeping the competitiveness, or to be replaced by the others. ‘Technologicalization of the Traditional Industry’ is my advocacy. Consequently, I made a list of improving the defects to submit for the top engineering staff. But, I was astonished that the response was ‘you must prove Barbie can not be saved!’ They did not want rescue Barbie actually. Outrageous, so that I decided to fight with those evil intentions to the end. However, the time continually lost, and no chance to implement for my plan; but “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” By faith, the time will be coming.

For the sake of Mattel’s Barbie lost the existed market, a series of ‘He-man’ had been developed to access the boys’ market and to be successful, because of comics and cartoons with marketing, the access generated the good effect. Then, a new He-man put on his chest with a ‘Drum’ which was required to print 6 colors on each 120 degrees, I recommended the local supplier to purchase the ‘Tampo Printer’ which quotation shown the unit price as ‘NTD 200,000,000’ and they can come within 10 minutes to do the maintenance if mechanic malfunction. Incredulously, those Engineering Executives spent more than ten times price to buy back two machines which could not be used from Hong Kong, and repaired at MLT everyday for a half year. I was seeing the new year of 1984 began, the best sell product was unbelievable to absent from the market that just caused by a ‘Drum’ could not be printed, and more delay more plight. In my evaluation, ‘Hong Kong machines can be fixed up.’ Yet, all the Mattel’s engineering officials came to check over the machines, and still was day after day dragged, and nothing to be changed. Eventually, I really couldn’t bear to write a letter to the top management in California to ask them a question, “To Be, or Not To Be?” And then, A Big Beard who was very angry to call me in his office, first, he blamed me to meddle the matter not belong to me, and consistently threw that acknowledged letter to me, I saw the w/b was ‘to be!’ Big Beard reached his finger to my nose and said, “Peter…You’re so meddlesome, then the 20^th day of May (1984) is a holiday, I give you that day to fix the machine up!”

I did not know where the courage came from, pounded the table to say, “Just right one day, who you scare!” The very day’s morning, my right leg was paralysis and painful, my wife helped me to the intersection to call a taxi straight to the MLT. Even though I crippled a leg, the machines still fixed up in one day and running 24 hours per day until MLT to be closed. I resolved Mattel’s He-man crisis, and therefore I earned the opportunity to attain my plan, and to bring the standardization, rationalization and automations in this MNC. In regarding to improve Barbie’s chest, I deeply studied construction of female breasts in order to avoiding the spot appeared as injection molding. As to the make-up of Barbie Doll, MLT’s top engineering said, “To spend millions of US dollars can not improve this problem---“ I just wrote a ‘Teach Plan’ and spent no any penny of official budget to set up a ‘Mask Fabrication Division,’ and training 10 operators to be the mask-fabricators as dressers. Mattel will never be limited by the affairs of make-up.

While Barbie was on the market in 1959, but there was a commercial on TV in 1955, because Disneyland opened in California on the 17^th day of July, a cartoon ‘Mickey Mouse Club’ was sponsored by Mrs. Ruth Handler, and introduced her created ‘Barbie Doll’ to the girls, and further became the most popular toy while launched in 1959--we can see the unique character of Mrs. Handler’s leadership as a paradigm of entrepreneurs. When Thorstein Veblen (1857-1929) announced that ‘Theory of the Leisure Class,’ women in the 1950s were asked for the casual consumption to honor their wealthy husbands in the USA. However, Handler created Barbie to teach girls learning independence, not attachment. So that I thought Barbie is not only a doll toy, but also a symbol to represent the progressive of human being. Barbie was a representative figure of ‘Feminism.’ Therefore, I poured the business model of precision industry into MLT to renew Barbie, and to prove the feasibility of ‘Technologicalization of Traditional Industry,’ the succeeded experience worthy as precious resource. The Scripture says “And let us not be weary in well-doing, for in due season, we shall reap, if we faint not.” Barbie revived, once again became the world girls’ dream, and reached the mission goal of Mrs. Ruth Handler, and Peter Kuo as ‘Mr. Barbie’ spread so far.

After preaching the way of upgrading industry for years, the Authority set the policy to guide the industrial direction for Taiwan’s enterprises; in addition, U.S. Reagan’s Administration also made an era of American renewal, Taiwan's vitality was jointly and severally restored; but many foreign firms evacuated from Taiwan since 1985 to the cheaper labor’s countries, they said, “Taiwan's national income has reached three thousand US dollars, there is no investment niche---“ On the other hand, the result of rescuing Barbie had been accomplished, I must actuate the other affairs of social service to approach the calling. My simple hope was expecting to keep Mattel in Taiwan by the Taiwan’s first-hand technologies which I left behind; unfortunately, MLT’s high level staffs from Purchasing, QC, Engineering to Production were greedy and irresponsibility everywhere, they did not fulfill the simple duties. Consequently, I left MLT in April, 1986, Mattel Inc. immediately shut down the Taiwan plant.

Reference:

Kuo, Li-Chang (2005:65-91). Open the Way for Next Generation. Taichung:Panhornic.