Toymaker Mattel expects to triple in China by 2020

Mattel expects to grow three to four times in the more than $31 billion toys and games market in China by 2020 through digitally connected toys, as it intensifies its efforts to take on LEGO Group and Hasbro Inc in the country, Reuters reports.  Mattel said its emphasis on e-commerce and repackaging its core brands as educational toys and connecting them to the internet would propel its position in the fragmented market. The toymaker has about 2% market share in China, lagging behind construction toy maker LEGO which has 2.8% control over the market. Hasbro is catching up with 1%, according to Euromonitor International. Mattel has been revamping its toys, developing AI Barbie Holograms, smart sensors-enabled Hot Wheels cars and virtual reality powered View-Masters to make them relevant to millennial parents. The new, digitally connected toys will be launched globally in fall 2018, the company said on Wednesday.