Word: mattel
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...caved on Barbie for my firstborn, I banned the Bratz for my second, determined to draw a line somewhere, only to watch her fascination grow every time we passed the toy aisle at Target. Meanwhile, the competitive threat to Barbie did not go unnoticed by the makeover masters at Mattel. In the face of years of criticism, Nurse Barbie had turned into Doctor Barbie, Stewardess Barbie into Astronaut Barbie, with a host of multicultural friends. There was even Barbie for President 2004 in a trim red pantsuit with a Stars-and-Stripes scarf...
...somehow Barbie remains incurably pink and retro, because she is an icon, a Warhol painting, a Smithsonian exhibit. The latest attempt to make Barbie modern is a little painful to watch. Bling Bling Barbie looks like a Bratz clone. At the Toy Fair this week in New York City, Mattel is unveiling the new Ken, who has "hottie hair" and cooler clothes. Turns out Ken is a metrosexual now. Mattel talks about the "Barbie turnaround" it is planning, which just makes me worried about the prospect of Rhinoplasty Barbie (you can remake her face!) or Tattoo Barbie...
Some say the return of the toy world's storied visionary is not a minute too soon. Toys "R" Us, hurt by price cutting from rivals, recently went private, and FAO Schwarz's parent company twice filed for bankruptcy. Meanwhile, consolidation among toymakers means Hasbro and Mattel have ever more control over what toys get sold. But even those huge toymakers feel added pressure over what to produce, thanks to the growing buying power of such huge distributors as Wal-Mart. "We need a shake-up in toys," says toy designer and Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad. "I'm sure...
Like cool girls in a middle-school popularity contest, the hippest dolls in the toy store are bickering over clothes, makeup and market share. MGA Entertainment, maker of the trendy Bratz dolls, says its product ideas have been borrowed by its archrival, Mattel, for My Scene Barbies. The company filed a lawsuit this month accusing Mattel of copycatting. The latest round of squabbling comes a year after Barbie's mother ship sued the creator of Bratz for working for MGA while still employed by Mattel and four years after the teenage bad-girl Bratz started strutting down the aisle with...
Meanwhile, some other dollmakers seem to be playing nicely together. When another Mattel alum last year launched a wholesome line of dolls called the Only Hearts Club, he took a page or two from the 20-year-old American Girl line by forsaking mass-market retailers for direct channels and upscale stores and making books an integral accessory. Each of the six Only Hearts dolls comes with a book in which the character faces a moral dilemma and ends up making the honorable decision. Founder Rouben Terzian says he hopes the dolls, with more than $3 million in sales...