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Barbie goes Babel: Mattel's overseas sales spike
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by Kaitlin | July 16, 2007 at 10:50 am
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Blame it on globalization, or, even more simply, on the proliferation of American culture overseas in general: Mattel saw an 18% increase in overseas sales--largely due to Barbie and Wheels toys. This occurred even as US sales decreased overall by 3%. Are little girls always going to have to look to Barbie as a standard for beauty, no matter where they live? It looks like that might be the case...
Sales of Mattel's girls and boys brands rose 5 per cent, while Fisher Price sales rose 12 per cent. The company's Wheels business, which includes Hot Wheels and Matchbox toy cars, increased 20 per cent.Worldwide sales of its 48-year-old Barbie line rose 6 per cent as strong sales abroad overcame a decline in the U.S., where the dolls face competition from MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls and Hasbro's Littlest Pet Shop.
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (1)
at 18:11 on July 17th, 2007
I would have to say that girls are just girls anywhere you go in the world. Playing with Barbie allows young girls to create a universe that they control. While some of the material aspects associated with Barbie seem superficial, it really just comes down to role playing. I loved playing with Barbies when I was young and I'm the mom of 2 daughters who were also really into until just recently. They could play for hours making up scenerios. It was always less about what Barbie was wearing and more about what she was doing and saying. But it certainly never hurts that she has the perfect outfit for whatever comes along :)
I'd also like to point out that Barbie's friends come in all races and ethnicities and my daughters wanted them all. They tended to choose the doll that most resembled them to "be", and all the others were their friends or roommates or co-workers or whatever. I feel it's safe to assume that girls around the world aren't so very different from my girls right here in Boise, ID and that is why Barbie will continue to reign supreme.