ABSTRACT
The Bratz pack is bad news for Mattel. Yasmin, Sasha, Cloe, and Jade first burst on the scene in 2001 as an alternative to the squeaky-clean Barbie. The newcomers are multiethnic and sport racy clothing including platform shoes, hip-huggers, tube tops, and fur vests. The dolls, property of the upstart company MGA Entertainment, Inc., have given Barbie the toughest challenge of her forty-seven-year career. Sales of Mattel's Barbie declined to about $1.6 billion in 2001 from their 1997 peak of $1.9 billion, and continue to drop. This is unsettling for Mattel, who counts on Barbie for about one-third of its corporate revenues and even more of its profits. In the fickle toy business, brand management is different than for other products such as cereal or shampoo. The volatile whims of children are attracted by innovative products that are promoted heavily. Mattel has been trying for years to find out how to get the tweenies, girls ages seven to twelve, to play with dolls. Children are outgrowing the traditional toys at younger ages than in previous years; in fact the core market for Barbie is now girls ages three to seven. When they get older they want to move on to something different, more edgy and hip. The Bratz dolls fill the void of the seven- to twelve-year-old teen-wannabees.
