Mattel is revamping its work spaces as employees return to the office

Mattel, the toy maker behind major brands such as Barbie and Hot Wheels, is upgrading its real estate holdings, moving its studio operations and design center into new homes.

The company, headquartered in El Segundo, is planning to move its studio operations to a recently renovated 60,000-square-foot building by 2025. Mattel signed a multiyear contract to lease the office space at 831 S. Douglas St.

Mattel is planning to move its studio operations to a recently renovated 60,000-square-foot building by 2025.

(Courtesy of Continental Development Corp.)

The building, located near Mattel’s current headquarters on Continental Boulevard, includes studios the company will use to shoot photos and videos to promote its products, as well as a patio that has fire pits and barbecue and kitchen areas. The building is close to other amenities including restaurants, an upscale athletic club, hotels and stores. For the last 30 years, Mattel has housed its studio operations on its campus, which includes multiple buildings.

The real estate deal is part of Mattel’s efforts to revamp its office space as the company aims to bolster productivity and creativity in the workplace along with attracting new employees. As workers start returning to the office after the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are trying to make the office more attractive for employees who have been accustomed to working remotely.

The interior of a building Mattel is moving its studio operations to by 2025. Mattel signed a multiyear contract to lease the office space at 831 S. Douglas St.

(Courtesy of Continental Development Corp.)

The industrial building, part of Continental Development Corp.’s Continental Park campus, was recently transformed to include a studio production area to meet Mattel’s creative needs.

“Employers have strived to provide reasons for their employees to want to come back into the office and interact with their peers, said Bob Tarnofsky, executive vice president of real estate at Continental Development. “The amenities that they provide are far greater than what we saw typically pre-COVID.”

As employers rethink the future of work, it’s not uncommon for businesses to sign shorter-term leases, Tarnofsky said. Mattel, however, signed a long-term lease. He declined to say how much Mattel paid for the lease and how long it lasts.

A patio with fire pits is among the amenities of the building.

(Courtesy of Continental Development Corp.)

This year, Mattel also announced it will be moving its design center, which has been located on Mariposa Avenue for more than three decades, to a newly renovated building in 2026. The center, where employees design the hair, clothing and other parts of toys, will be housed in a 167,767-square-foot office space known as Grand + Nash at 2160 E. Grand Ave. Mattel purchased the space for $59 million from New York Life Insurance.

“We are embarking on a significant interior modernization of our headquarters building at 333 Continental Boulevard, infused with the same design principles and inspired by office modernization efforts at Mattel offices around the globe,” David Traughber, Mattel’s senior vice president of finance and head of global real estate, said in a statement.

The buildings that currently house Mattel’s studio operations and design center are leased facilities the company will be vacating.

As of December 2023, Mattel had approximately 33,000 workers in more than 35 countries worldwide, according to the company’s annual report. The company has roughly 2,000 workers in El Segundo and offers its employees a hybrid work environment.