2015 marks a huge revolution in Barbie dolls’ history. After 56 year on the market, the iconic doll has finally learned to talk. The one to blame – Disney’s Frozen!
Mattel, the company behind the Barbie brand, announced a new product strategy early in 2015. The toymaker revealed how the iconic doll will change in 2015 and Hello Barbie is already a reality.
Mattel’s new Barbie motto seems to be diversity. By the end of the year, the company will launch a total of 78 new Barbie dolls. They will rock 14 different hairstyles and 8 skin tones. And behold – for the first time in its history – Barbie will have bendable ankles! Fashion wise, that means that it will be able to wear flats.
The flagship Barbie in the new lineup is “Hello Barbie.” According to Mattel, it is a smart doll that is not only able to talk, but to also have a conversation with children. This hi-tech toy is equipped with a Siri-like speech recognition feature and it is able to connect to the web via Wi-Fi. “Hello Barbie” is already available for purchase for $99, but according to Mattel the price should be $75 in stores.
The smart Barbie also aims to win parents back at its side. Over the past couple of years, the doll was highly criticized for its unrealistic body image. That pushed parents away from the classic doll. “Hello Barbie,” will attempt to attract them with a special smart feature. Mums and dads will have the chance to listen to highlights from their kids’ conversations with Barbie through the cloud. Mattel assured that this functionality will not compromise parents’ and kids’ security and privacy.
The second big Barbie release of the year will be Barbie in Princess Power. It will present the doll as a superhero. The company behind the Barbie brand decided to release it after a consumer survey. The results from the research showed that 90% of the respondents want to see more superhero toys created for girls.
The Frozen Factor
But why did Mattel changed its strategy after 56 years? With the advancement of consumer technology and the spreading use of personal electronics children’s interest towards toys has changed. In addition, during the past years Barbie is in the shade of Frozen’s Elza and Anna dolls. Toys from Disney’s Frozen franchise became the top-sellers of the previous holiday season. Unlike Barbies, Frozen dolls have special powers and a back story. Also, the huge popularity and success of the Frozen films is still lingering in kids’ memory.
Mattel reported that Barbie sales were on the decline for three years in a row. In 2014 alone, the iconic doll’s sales saw a decrease by 16%. In addition to that, Barbie’s main demographic has shrunk from the ages 3 – 9 to 3 – 6. The net income of the toy company for Q4 2014 fell by 59%.
With so much heat on the doll market, the 2015 holiday shopping season may revolve not around the console or smartphones wars, but around dolls.
