BUSINESS

Mattel has unveiled curvy, petite and tall versions of its iconic fashion doll. The new body types will also be sold in an assortment of skin tones, eye colors, and hairstyles. (New York Times)

Use our resources to learn how Barbie made her debut.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit.

Discussion Ideas

• How did Barbie come to dominate the fashion-doll market? Read our super-short article on Barbie’s birth for some help.
  • In a classic business story, Barbie’s inventor, Ruth Handler, smartly filled a “hole in the market.” The marketplace was dolls, and the hole was the absence of a mass-produced adult-model doll that children could dress up in different clothes.
    • Prior to the introduction of Barbie, most dolls were models of infants and toddlers. But Ruth noticed that her daughter, Barbara, enjoyed dressing up dolls and pretending they had adult jobs. Ruth’s husband, a co-founder of the Mattel toy company, had the good business sense to listen to his wife. Mattel bought the German company that made one of the few adult-model fashion dolls (Bild Lilli) and introduced the concept to 1950s America. The rest is history (and an ongoing billion-dollar business venture).

• Why is Mattel adding more diversity to Barbie’s look?
  • According to the New York Times, Barbie “sales have been declining by double-digits in recent years.” Barbie sales fell 14% (to about $300 million) in the third quarter, according to Mattel’s last earnings report. (The company’s 4th-quarter report, which covers the period between October and December, isn’t available yet, but might show an uptick in sales thanks to the winter holidays.)

• What are some reasons sales have been so drastically declining for Barbie?
  • Competition. Barbie may have been one of the first fashion dolls on the market, but she has a lot of company now: Lego Friends, Bratz, Blythe. Next year, Mattel will lose the licensing rights to fashion-doll (Barbie) versions of the Disney Princesses and Frozen to rival Hasbro. Read a fantastic article about that transaction here—one of my favorite business stories from last year.
    • Fun Fact 1: Mattel has expanded its own line of fashion dolls. Monster High, a major Barbie competitor, is a Mattel product. American Girl, the behemoth that seems to bridge the gap between infant-model dolls and teen/adult-model dolls, is also owned by Mattel.
    • Fun Fact 2: Don’t think that Barbie is a shrinking violet—although her sales have slumped, she is still the top doll in the market.
  • Electronics. Children of the 21st century are much more likely to play with video-game consoles, computers, tablets, smartphones, and even drones than children of the 20th century. Sales of almost all traditional toys and games have declined drastically over the decade.
  • Gender. There has been a sea-change in perceptions of gender in society. More children, parents, and caregivers are seeking out gender-neutral toys. According to the New York Times, “The Disney Store, for example, decided to label all of its children’s Halloween costumes as ‘for kids,’ as opposed to for boys or girls. Amazon, which by some measures accounts for more than half of all online sales, has banished gender distinctions for its toys.”
  • STEM. More children, parents, and caregivers are seeking out toys that focus on engineering, such as Lego, GoldieBlox, or electronic games such as Minecraft.

• The new line of Barbies come in petite, tall, and curvy versions. This is just Mattel’s latest response to the market indicators listed above. How else has the company responded to consumer demand?
  • Competition. Last year, “Mattel released a broad assortment of dolls in a greater number of skin tones, eye colors and even facial structures as part of its Fashionistas line.” More diversity appeals to more ethnically diverse families with disposable incomes.
  • Electronics. Last year, Mattel introduced Hello Barbie, an incredibly sophisticated interactive version of the doll that picks up on verbal cues from children to engage them in conversation. Read a nice magazine article about Hello Barbie here.
  • Gender. Barbie is marketing to a wide assortment of career aspirations: A new ad features little girls picturing themselves as teachers, coaches, and other professionals. Another commercial features a boy playing with a Barbie.
  • STEM. Mattel has always been a leader in offering aspirational careers ideas for Barbie—astronaut (she went to space before Neil Armstrong, much less Sally Ride), teacher, surgeon, firefighter, presidential candidate. In the last decade, Barbie has been a computer engineer and architect, in addition to a film director and race-car driver.

• Has Mattel’s business response resulted in a financial upswing for Barbie?
  • Too early to tell. Barbie is a billion-dollar business that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and the introduction of the diverse Fashionista line was profitable for Mattel last year. But it’s far too early to see if the downward sales in fashion dolls is a trend or part of the realities of the new toy market.

TEACHERS’ TOOLKIT

New York Times: Barbie, Now in More Shapes

Nat Geo: 1959: Barbie Makes Her Debut

Mattel: Mattel Reports Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results And Declares Quarterly Dividend

(extra credit!) Bloomberg Business: The $500 Million Battle Over Disney’s Princesses