高层观点：专访美泰CEO

Bob Eckert has been chairman and chief executive of Mattel for eight years. With about $5bn in annual sales, the company is the world's largest toymaker, owning the Barbie, Fisher Price and Hot Wheels brands.

Last summer, Mr Eckert faced his biggest test as a chief executive when Mattel recalled almost 20m toys made in China on safety concerns. The recall shone a spotlight on China-US trade relations.

Most of the toys were recalled because of faulty design, however, which had nothing to do with where they were made. Mattel later apologised to the "Chinese people" after media reports on the recalls focused on the country's manufacturing practices and safety standards.

Mr Eckert has a long record in consumer products, having worked at Kraft Foods for 23 years. A native of Chicago, he had misgivings about moving to California after joining Mattel. Now he says he will never live anywhere else.

In a video interview with FT.com, Mr Eckert discusses the importance of apologising to consumers, the increasing costs of China and the challenges of the internet for the toy business. Edited highlights appear below.

Last year, you had to recall 20m toys. What did you do to rebuild that trust?

We talked to consumers around the world. We ran advertising to remind people of the joy of toys. But mostly it was just being straight with people.

Did you need to say sorry?

We did. Oh, absolutely. One of the first things we did in early August, with a major recall, we ran a letter from me to consumers that basically said 'I'm sorry'. I've got four kids. I get it.

Could it happen again?

It could always happen again. One of the things I've learned is you never say never. But we're doing everything we can to prevent it. The important thing is to catch it quickly and do something about it.

Your recall sparked concern about the safety of products made in China. Does there need to be more US regulation of products from China?

Countries don't make products; people do. The fact is most of the toys today are made in China and most of the toy manufacturing problems are in China.

But we've had manufacturing problems in other markets. So the important thing is for companies to take responsibility for their manufacturing process. I don't know that we need more government intervention.

So there was nothing specific about China that consumers need to be worried about?

No, I don't think so.

Are you worried about the increasing costs of manufacturing in China?

Yes; the toy industry has moved several times over the past decades. At one point we manufactured heavily in the United States. The toy industry's been in Taiwan, in Hong Kong. Now it's in the southern provinces in China. I see the economic forces moving the industry either further inland in China or perhaps into Vietnam.

Are environmental concerns going to hit the toy industry?

Absolutely. We're already working on making sure our products are continuing to get more environmentally friendly. One area is packaging. We're [also] looking at how we use plastics and make the toys.

Do you worry that mothers might be reluctant to have their daughters play with such a stereotypical female model as Barbie?

No; in fact we see the opposite because Barbie has changed. So Barbie can be a pet doctor. Barbie can be president of the United States. Barbie can have all sorts of professional careers and she ends up being a good vehicle for professional mothers to talk to their daughters about opportunities.

Are toys gender-specific?

Yes; and somewhat surprisingly so to me. Girls go through certain stages and have certain play patterns [as do] boys.

For the most part, boys don't do fashion play and girls don't crash cars. There are exceptions. We now make Polly Wheels, small cars, little Hot Wheel-like cars for girls and they've been a big hit, but the Polly Wheels are designed differently than the Hot Wheels cars 'cause they're not designed to run fast and to crash. They're designed to [be] more appealing to girls than boys.

Do you worry traditional toys are going to lose ground to the internet and electronic games?

Yes; play time today is more than just toys. It is VOD [video on demand], internet, cell phones, handheld games and toys. So one of the important things we need to do as toymakers is to make sure our brands are in some of those other spaces. You need to keep your brands relevant. We have Barbie Girls.com; 10m users around the world.

Can you monetise that?

We hope so. That's one of the challenges. Either to make more toys that connect to the space and take the child deeper into the world or a subscription model or an advertising model.

Are we talking ourselves into a recession?

I saw a story that almost two thirds of Americans think we are in a recession. If you think you're in a recession you're going to cut back on spending and what happens then when we cut back on spending? We have a downturn in the economy.

The good news for the toy business is historically it has held up quite well in tough economic times because parents self-sacrifice but their children aren't going to know times are tough.

Will the fiscal stimulus help you?

I think it's a wise move by the US government to make sure that money that the government would otherwise have goes back into the hands of consumers.

美泰(Mattel)董事长兼首席执行官鲍勃•埃克尔特(Bob Eckert)在任已8年。该公司是全球最大的玩具制造商，年销售额约为50亿美元，旗下拥有芭比娃娃(Barbie)、费雪(Fisher Price)及风火轮(Hot Wheels)等玩具品牌。

去年夏季，埃克尔特遭遇了担任首席执行官以来最大的考验，当时美泰因安全考虑召回了近2000万件中国制造的玩具。这一召回事件使得中美贸易关系暴露于聚光灯之下。

但是，大多数玩具的召回原因是设计问题，与其产地无关。媒体对召回事件的报道一度将注意力集中在了中国制造业惯例及安全标准上，美泰随后向“中国人民”道歉。

埃克尔特在消费品领域有着多年的经验，他曾在卡夫食品(Kraft Foods)供职23年。作为一名土生土长的芝加哥人，加入美泰后他曾对迁往加州感到担心。而他现在表示，自己想终老此地。

在接受英国《金融时报》的视频采访时，埃克尔特谈及了向消费者道歉的重要性、中国生产成本的日益上升及互联网给玩具行业带来的挑战。以下是编辑后的采访要点。

去年，美泰被迫召回2000万件玩具。你在重建信任方面做了哪些事情？

我们和世界各地的消费者进行过交流。我们通过广告提醒人们玩具带来的快乐。但最主要的是，对消费者坦诚相待。

当时你们有必要道歉吗？

有必要。这绝对有必要。（去年）8月初，我们最先做的几件事之一就是在进行大规模召回的同时，由我致函消费者，内容基本上就是表示“对不起”。我自己有4个孩子。因此我理解大家的感受。

这种情况将来有可能再次发生吗？

什么事情都有可能再次发生。我学到的事情之一，就是永远不要说永远。但我们在尽自己所能避免这种情况的再次发生。重要的是尽快发现问题，并加以解决。

美泰的召回引发了外界对中国产品安全问题的担忧。美国是否需要出台更多针对中国产品的规定？

产品不是由国家生产的，而是由人生产的。事实上，目前大多数玩具都是中国制造的，而大多数玩具生产问题也出现在中国。

但我们在其它市场也遇到过制造方面的问题。所以重要的是，企业要为自己的制造流程负起责任。我并不认为我们需要政府的更多干预。

那么，消费者对中国没有什么需要特别担心的地方吗？

对，我认为没有。

你是否对日益上涨的中国制造成本感到担心？

是的，在过去数十年间，玩具行业已经几经迁徙。有段时间，我们的大部分制造业务都放在美国本土。玩具行业到过台湾与香港，现在则到了中国的南部省份。我认为，经济力量将使玩具业进一步向中国内陆推进，或许是推向越南。

环境方面的担忧是否也将影响到玩具业？

没错。我们已在努力，确保自己的产品对环境的影响变得越来越小。包装是一个方面。我们（还在）考虑如何利用塑料制造玩具。

你是否担心母亲们可能不愿让自己的女儿玩芭比娃娃这种老套的女孩玩具？

不担心；实际上，我们看到的情况正相反，因为芭比娃娃已经改变。这样芭比可以是一个宠物医生，也可以是一位美国总统。芭比可以拥有各种各样的职业生涯，并最终成为职业母亲向女儿谈及就业机会的一个很好载体。

不同的玩具是否针对特定性别？

是的，对我而言，其程度多少有些出乎意料。女孩儿会经历某些阶段，有一些特定的游戏模式，男孩儿也一样。

多数情况下，男孩不会玩过家家，女孩也不会用玩具车撞来撞去。当然也有例外。我们现在为女孩设计了波莉轮赛车(Polly Wheels)，这是一种有些类似风火轮的小型赛车，专门为女孩设计，非常受欢迎，原因是我们把这种玩具设计得速度较慢，不是用于碰撞。这都是为了让它们能够更好地吸引女孩，而不是男孩。

你是否担心，传统玩具将让位于网络及电子游戏？

是的，现在的游戏时间不再只是玩玩具。它包括视频点播(video on demand)、互联网、手机、掌上游戏机及玩具。所以，作为玩具制造商，最重要的事情之一就是保证我们的品牌出现在其它一些领域中。我们需要保证自己的品牌不落伍。我们建立了Barbie Girls.com网站，在全世界各地拥有1000万用户。

你们能让这个网站赚钱吗？

我们希望如此。这是挑战之一。要么制造更多可以和这个（虚拟）空间联系起来的玩具，并将孩子们更深地带入这个世界，要么是一个注册模式，或者是一个广告模式。

我们是否在通过言辞将自己推入经济衰退？

我看到一则新闻：近三分之二的美国人都认为我们已经步入经济衰退。如果你认为经济衰退已经到来，你就会削减支出，那么，当我们削减支出时，又会出现怎样的情况呢？经济会出现低迷。

对于玩具业而言，好的消息是，在历史上的经济困难时期，这个行业仍然维持着较好的态势，原因是父母会做出自我牺牲，而他们的孩子不会知道时局艰难。

政府的财政刺激方案会对美泰有所帮助吗？

我认为美国政府此举是明智的，保证了本来要归于政府的资金流回到了消费者手中。