As an international star, and a doll dream for millions of little girls, this is the story of the famous doll, Barbie. Ruth Handler, the founder of Mattel (1945), wanted to create a new model doll accompanied by a range of clothing and accessories.
Hence, she bought the patent of Bild Lili (a German doll). Little later, Mattel started selling Barbie out of workshops. The first Barbie could be described as follows: 29 cm high, with its dummy look, blue eyes and blonde hair and her slim waist. It was made of vinyl plastic and was sold at $3.
Barbie was launched in March 1959, at the Toy Fair that was held in New York. Later, the Barbie family expanded with Barbie's boyfriend Ken being introduced in 1961. Barbie's best friend Midge was introduced in 1963. Ken and Midge were among the first few to get into the privileged circle of Barbie.
Tags: introduction of Barbie, history and birth of Barbie, evolution of Barbie, Barbie's success
[...] ) and inspires the greatest fashion. • The Packaging - 1959: the purpose of packaging was to make it possible to transport all its clothes and accessories everywhere with briefcases. So it was custom packaging and was the object of worship. - 2009: there is more standardization of packaging • Appearance of products: styling hair, playing video games, watching movies . Pricing Strategy • The various range: High-range: doll collection from 100 € Mid-range: products were sold in supermarkets for a more affordable price • Prices and competition: the price of Barbie is lower compared to competition, € 15 on average for a Barbie against € 23 for a Bratz. [...]
[...] It was made of vinyl plastic and was sold at $3. It was launched in March 1959, at the Toy Fair that was held in New York. Later the family grew with Barbie's boyfriend Ken in 1961, her best friend Midge in 1963 Ken and Midge were among the first few to get into the privileged circle of Barbie. The photograph below depicts the 1959 Barbie and Barbie's of 21st century, this brief comparison will help us to understand its evolution. [...]
[...] The consequence for sales of Barbie is bad: they declined by 21% in 2008 in the U.S. and less than worldwide. On market share, in 2006, Bratz held more than 40% of the market share when Barbie dolls had only 60% Levels of the competitive space Inter-product competition: Bratz Inter-segment competition: Dora, Strawberry Shortcake Inter-generic competition: Coloring, dinette, jewelry, video games, movies IV. Barbie-counter attack To meet its new rival, Barbie used all the features that made the basis of its success Marketing Plan Product strategy: • Product: The Barbie doll is 29 cm it can be brown, red or blond and has a body measurements of the model. [...]
[...] ) • The location in Shanghai: Mattel is now focusing on China: it opened a store in Shanghai on March dedicated to the Barbie doll. Covering an area of 3800 m2 on six floors, this store offers all kinds of services (makeup, spa, bar . ) it hopes to make Barbie dolls number 1 in China. Photo of Barbie store in Shanghai Conclusion: In 2009, Barbie celebrated her 50 years and it was an opportunity for her to shine by its elegance and its eternal beauty. Barbie will always remain in the minds of little girls as a symbol of elegance and luxury. [...]
[...] Qualitatively, in the 1990s, Barbie dolls had defects. In terms of feminist values, it conveyed: - The doll would leave the image of women as objects - It would be too far from reality for American and European women - Worse, her measurements are almost indecent (36-18-38 to 69 cm) the Barbie would promote anorexia. New competitors: the Bratz Currently, girls are moving away from Barbies to admire singers or actresses they see on TV such as Hanna Montana. Competitors took advantage of these cultural changes to launch fashionable styles. [...]
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