Mattel — Attraction in El Segundo

My TX friend who has been a Barbie enthusiast for decades visited me and I looked up this Mattel store to plan to take her. we went on a random Friday, not on a release date for new products, and it was rather uncrowded and perfect for shopping. I was hesitant at first because from Google Maps, it looked like we had gone to the wrong place… Mattel headquarters. That was true, but the toy store was right next door. My friend and I snapped pictures in front of Mattel headquarters, and we went inside the lobby where we were able to take photos inside of a life-sized Barbie Box! but most of the rest of the area was cordoned off and visitors were not allowed to explore it. There was also a cool hot wheels display in the corporate lobby as well.

Then we went next door, as directed, to the toy store, which was rather an average size. Most of the toys available were not that special and available at your local target or Walmart. There was the Star Wars Leia Barbie, though! It’s sold for $300. And there was also a clearance section with some deals on Mattel toys.

I had always shunned Barbies until this visit, but my friend bought me an Asian Barbie, which I absolutely loved and became obsessed with! (as an adult). Even though my friend has most Barbie toys, we still came away with a cart full of purchases. The employees are very nice and friendly. At check out you can buy red Mattel bags for $1. my friend got multiple ones for gift giving. At checkout, there was also a bonus table where if you spent a certain amount, you could buy additional products for $10 or something like that. If you signed up for a loyalty program, you got additional bonuses through points.

This store is obviously kid friendly, but did not have a bathroom . we were directed to go to the Doubletree hotel next-door to use the facilities.

Parking is great and shared with a corporate headquarters so there’s no problem there.

Be sure to check store hours - they are very odd and I planned our visit on a Friday weeks in advance in order to get there on a day they were open!

There’s also an accessibility ramp at the front of the toy store. Shopping carts are also outside so grab one before you go in.

All in all, this was an amazing visit because I finally understood the magic of Barbie and appreciated the movie even more. I wish Mattel had done more with its toy store - it’s just an average size with average offerings. * Those of you coming from out of town thinking that it will be something spectacular. Should set your expectations accordingly. *

come and check it out all the same! It’s really exciting and we enjoyed taking photos in front of the Mattel headquarters… just as if we were in the movie...

Dear Mattel,

We recently visited your headquarters. We booked a hotel the night before our cruise, and made only two stops while in California - your headquarters (our first destination to be sure we made it before closing) and the beach. My husband is 46 years old and has been a lover of hot wheels for about 42 or so of them. For his birthday, I made him storage for his favorite 96 of them. And the day we visited your headquarters just happened to be his birthday. Unfortunately, we were very disappointed. The collection we found there looked similar to what we might have found at your average Walmart. We read and also heard from one of your friendly and polite staff members that the collectible hot wheels are delivered each morning and gone within minutes of the store opening to people who have waited hours in line. My husband didn’t need anything valuable, but something branded as a “Mattel headquarters” hot wheels would have been lovely. The type of souvenir that you have tons of … with even more in the stock room … that is worth the same dollar years later as it’s worth the day you buy it. Heck, maybe its value even rises to three or four dollars because it’s only available at one location in the entire world … even though they’re available in mass quantities.

I, personally, would have been happy to spend twenty or so dollars on a Mattel headquarters coffee mug - one with a Mattel headquarters logo and also featuring hot wheels and Barbie and splash of your other more popular brands.

Also worth noting, your lobby is absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, we had to view it through glass and try to mostly unsuccessfully peek around hidden corners. It would be wonderful if that was available to people to walk-through during business hours of the store. My husband went to walk in the lobby as the door was open and was immediately yelled at that the lobby was closed. We apologized (for walking through an open door) and walked away sheepishly. On the way back from our disappointing visit to the store, I decided I would try knocking on the door and pleading my case to whomever answered, hoping for a little extra generosity. However, a woman who heard my knocking peaked her head out of the room that she was in only to disappear as quickly as she had appeared (presumably once she saw we were a family and obviously tourists). Had you charged us a couple bucks per person (to cover the cost of a person supervising the traffic), we would have been thrilled … as I assume the other dozen or so other people we saw in our minutes there would have been as well as they also wanted to get into the lobby.

Just a couple of thoughts from loyal...

I've been to this store a few times over the past 2 years and always come around my friend's children's birthdays or Christmases because this store has so many items that a kid would want. I think I saw this business talked about on a Instagram post recommending people going to their Tent Event with discounts. I wasn't able to make it to attend to then, but I did make it to the regular store during their business hours. The store isn't open for many hours, only during the normal business week like 8:00 to 5:00. Since I'm located in Orange county, it was a little bit of a trip for me to go check it out, but I was able to find other things to do in the area. When you go to the store you're literally at the Mattel headquarters and is a super tall building with the logo and a decord business space on the bottom. On the side of the building there is the Mattel store and you see a bunch of parents and kids coming in and out. Since I didn't go to the tent event, the store was in crazy crowded. There was enough people since it was the holidays, but plenty of items to get. Most of the items are full retail price, but they do have some deals going on in the day that you can check out. If there are things on sale, it is a small section and I heard that there is something every day depending on what their Factory makes. They do offer discounts for First Responders so if you're one of those types of people, you can let the check out staff. Considering the amount of things and the quality of toys I bought, I think it was a reasonable price and worth the experience if you were either an adult or a kid. I didn't even know that there were so many Brands under the Mattel umbrella, like Barbie Fisher-Price Hot Wheels and more. All of their toys are aged appropriately and those age indicators do help when you're trying to buy something that is okay for whoever...