Mattel is a worldwide smash as a company. Why is this? it’s a simple answer – Barbie!

The history of Barbie is well documented so I’ll let you do your own research but the rise of a phenomenal brand has mapped the rise of parent company Mattel. In the UK we had Sindy, which for nearly 30 years rivalled Barbie on UK shelves, until Mattel started a campaign to dominate the sector in the early 1990′s; it worked, Sindy has all but gone and Barbie appeared to be in a such dominance that “the world was the petite one’s oyster”! That of course was until…

…Bratz. The urban, shocking, big eyed and rebellious brand took us all by storm and beat the living daylights out of the cutesy, fairy-like queen of dolls and we revelled in the competition, but alas it wasn’t to last. It turned out that MGA had “pulled a fast one” and “stolen” the designs for Bratz from under the noses of Mattel. The subsequent spat went to court and Mattel won; MGA has to withdraw Bratz from retail shelves by January 2010 and the way is now open for Barbie to resume it’s hegemony; or so we thought.

Of course there are other players in the toy world and whilst Mattel and MGA fought out their heavyweight battle they were busy developing brands to fill the gap, to try and keep up the competition; keep Barbie on it’s toes and earn some money from the slap to MGA. So what do we get?

Bratz in disguise! We get new models which are borrowing Bratz rebellious streak, the “look” but brought up to date; but is it new? Moxie girls and Liv doll, and any others that may be out there are just filling a gap and producing “me-too” brands. Easy money, can’t knock it, but I still feel there has been an opportunity missed and to be honest that opportunity is still there.

Funny though, when I mention this to toy manufacturers and designers, no-one seems keen to take up the cudgel. There seems to a resigned look, as if to say “we can’t take on Mattel and Spinmaster” ; we’ll leave it to them.

If anyone out there is a designer of toys and wants to work with me on a new girls doll concept, please give me a shout. I expect you to be slightly mad and completely “out there”, but it can be done. We can change the world!

Someone has to. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/08/fashion/08dolls.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ref=fashion

Related articles by Zemanta
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]