Under tight security deep in a war room called, incongruously, the Pink Room at Mattel's design center in El Segundo, Calif., Ann Zimmerman reports that yet-another new Barbie has been birthed. She is a "Fashionista" with 12 movable joints that allow girls to pose her like a Vogue supermodel. But she's not the only pretty face with nimble limbs in town.
Spin Master's Liv dolls have 14 movable joints. And in the Van Nuys, Calif., headquarters of MGA Entertainment, former Bratz designers have been devising accessories that girls can color for the new Moxie Girlz line. The sniping has already started, Zimmerman reports. Says MGA's founder and CEO, Issac Larian: "The Fashionista Barbies don't even come with a hairbrush."
Barbie still remains the best-selling doll in the world but sales have stagnated for several years. Mattel pulled out all the marketing stops earlier this year to celebrate Barbie's 50th anniversary, but sales dropped 15% in the second quarter following a short-lived boost. And the future, despite Mattel's considerable marketing muscle, is hazy. An annual gift guide that is published in the October issue of Redbook snubbed Barbie in favor of Moxie Girlz and Liv on its list of "Hot 20 Toys" for the 2009 holiday season.
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