In order to keep this holiday jolly, I shall steer clear of all jocularity about makeovers for sentient beings of a certain age and will merely re-report the fact that, as Barbie approaches her fifth
decade, a sweeping marketing makeover is taking place. The goal is to make her again popular with older girls, who've turned to video games and the like.
Barbie had largely ceded the
"tween" customer -- kids eight to 12 -- to Bratz and high-tech toys, according to Richard Dickson, the brand's new general manager. "We had lost a whole piece of the business, the older girl," he
says.
The company will be revamping the corporate structure that oversees Barbie, adding two executive positions to the brand -- in marketing and design -- and will be consolidating
operations. The variety of products will stay, writes Nicholas Casey, but executives have chosen a single logo that looks like Barbie's signature. And the pinks have been reduced to a single hue to
which the company owns the rights. New designs for the dolls will also be released.
advertisement
advertisement
Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »