So if Mattel and Toys "R" Us are off the hook, maybe the Chinese will come in for some tough treatment.
So he called in the CEOs of Mattel and Toys "R" Us, made them sit in front of dozens of photographers and TV cameras, and told them straight out what he really thinks of them - they're great guys.
So could toys like Mattel's IM-Me mobile messaging device, which increasingly ships with wi-fi on board.
So could toys like Mattel (nyse: MAT - news - people )'s IM-Me mobile messaging device, which increasingly ships with wi-fi on board.
Mattel, known for toys like Hot Wheels and Barbie, earned 23 cents a share in the second quarter, up from 14 cents a year ago.
Almost 40% of British consumers are less likely to buy Chinese-made toys because of Mattel's recall crisis, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by Marketing Week, a trade publication.
Then the big boys with global licences arrive: Lego to make construction kits (build your own Hogwarts castle), Mattel to make Harry Potter toys, and Electronic Arts computer games including, finally, a chance to play the obscure game of Quidditch (a bit like an aerial version of polo, but with the contestants flying on broomsticks).
Fad toys help, but Mattel has several huge and durable franchises.
Toys "R" Us, Mattel's largest customer and the biggest Barbie retailer, slashed inventory, but that wasn't the whole story.
Mattel competes with Hasbro and Jakks Pacific to sell their toys into retailers like Wal-Mart and Target.
FORBES: Mattel's Storied Brands Show Age In Q1. It's Barbie's Siblings Who Shine
They'll also focus on Mattel, which announced a third recall this week of toys imported from China.
Mattel issued a safety recall for 1.5m of its Fisher-Price toys (1m of which are in America) because they may contain hazardous levels of lead paint.
Two headset-based toys released in 2009 Uncle Milton's Star Wars Force Trainer and Mattel's Mindflex used players' concentration and relaxation levels, gauged by comparing brain waves of different frequencies, to make a ball rise or fall using airflow from a fan.
More recently Mattel launched an Apptivity series of iPad games designed to let kids control the games with their plastic toys.
FORBES: Life After Barbie: Why Mattel Isn't Scared Of iPads And Video Games
In its twentieth annual "Trouble in Toyland" report released in November the consumer group singles out Mattel for putting a blanket warning that "small parts may be generated" on many of its toys.
In 2003 it helped toymaker Mattel coordinate stories for the 35th anniversary of its Hot Wheels cars across comic books, cartoons, games and toys.
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