Check out American girls continuing to shun Barbie, despite Mattel’s attempts to revitalize the once-dominant brand with sleek, new products.
Since coming to market in 1959, Barbie has played a key role in Mattel’s profits. But that may be changing as Mattel posted a profit despite another decline in U.S. sales of the flagship line.
“Innovation has been lacking, in our view, on the Barbie line,” Sterne Agee analyst Margaret Whitfield said in a Jan. 25 research note.
Last year Mattel rolled out new Barbie products such as Chat Divas, — a doll able to move and lip sync to music played on one of Apple Inc’s iPod music players — and the Rainbow Adventure Elina Doll and DVD game. The doll functions as an interactive controller for the game.
Fourth-quarter Barbie sales fell 12 percent in the U.S. but rose 4 percent internationally, as the weak U.S. dollar boosted the value of overseas sales.
“We need to do some work. Both our spring and fall fantasy lines didn’t meet expectations,” said Chief Executive Robert Eckert, adding that Barbie’s full-year results were “disappointing.”
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