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Company: Mattel, China
For
Barbie’s 50th anniversary, Mattel launched its flagship Barbie
concept store called “House of Barbie” in Shanghai in March 2009. It was
Mattel’s attempt at developing the market of its most popular doll into China.
The store had six floors, complete with a stairway decorated with 875 Barbie
dolls and a Barbie bar that was designed by one of Shanghai’s premier
restaurateurs. It also featured a cosmetics department, a fashion runway and a
spa. The concept was that Barbie would be a lifestyle symbol and cultural icon
for girls and young women (Wang, 2012).
BBC News
Business (2011) offers information saying Mattel was hoping to counterweigh
decreasing sales in traditional markets affected by the financial crisis at the
time. Longid (2011) stated that Mattel did not cite a reason for its shutting
down though it had reduced the outlet’s sales targets by 30 percent within the
first eight months of the store’s opening in Shanghai. According to Pierson
(2011), the closure was a surprising revelation for a store that seemed to
embody the spirit of a city that was on an unstoppable material rise.
Mattel unveiled
a doll especially for the opening – a Chinese character called Ling, who had
black hair and was dressed in a traditional Chinese outfit. According to Wang
(2013), local Chinese girls actually preferred the original blonde Barbie to the
Chinese Barbie. This highlighted a debate of what beauty meant to them and
whom they wanted to relate with. Wang (2012) also stated that numerous experts pointed
out the fact that Barbie is a Western doll and was dubbed as “too sexy” for
Chinese girls. Rauhala (2011) gave information that analysts concluded that
Mattel had failed to localize their product to cater to local consumer
preferences and habits enough to successfully expand their market.
Based on
research done by Wang (2012), one of the mistakes that Mattel made was to open
a standalone store before they established Barbie as a strong brand in China.
In the U.S., Barbie is an iconic symbol of “femininity” for young girls. Over
the years, the Barbie brand was a strong force as the doll assumed many
different roles of women. However in China, Barbie is just another doll. She
does not have any cultural significance for Chinese girls and young women. Because
of that, Chinese consumers do not care about Barbie-branded products as much as
Americans do. In an interview done by Wang (2012) with the general manager of
Barbie Shanghai, Gar Crispell, it was pointed out that Mattel had wrongly
planned the concept of the store. Had Barbie been a cultural icon and an
established lifestyle brand in China, the House of Barbie would have done much
better.
As stated
by Rauhala (2011), Mattel hoped to attract the Chinese demographic by focusing
on Barbie-branded merchandise. However, Mattel didn’t understand enough of what
Chinese girls and young women want to achieve that. The Chinese concept of
“femininity” is not the same as that of Americans’. In China, “feminine” is
more related to sweet and soft instead of smart and strong. Although Mattel
created a Chinese Barbie, the firm still failed to understand what Ling would
represent in order to properly appeal to the Chinese market. According to Wang
(2012), Mattel could have made Barbie an aspiring brand that empowered Chinese
girls. If Barbie or Ling could become a role model for Chinese girls, Mattel
would have had a better chance of succeeding in China.
Apart from
that, Mattel wanted to bring a 50-year old brand to a new market that had just
been introduced to Barbie. In the U.S., everyone knows Mattel and Barbie. In
China, it is still new and relatively unknown (Longid, 2011). According to an
interview done with Ben Cavender, a Shanghai-based analyst at China Market
Research Group (Longid, 2011), Mattel should have set up their stores in malls
instead of occupying a whole building as it would have increased awareness of
the brand.
The magic
of Barbie didn’t play out nearly as much in China as in her homeland. Chinese
culture is significantly different from that of America. Without understanding
this, it was no surprise that the House of Barbie closed its doors so soon
after its opening in Shanghai.
Reference
list:
1. Longid, F 2011, ‘Barbie Packs Her Bags as Mattel
Closes Shanghai Dream House’, Bloomberg News,
7 March, viewed 18 April 2014,
.
2. Pierson, D 2011, ‘Barbie’s flagship store closes in
Shanghai’, Los Angeles Times Business,
7 March, viewed 18 April 2014,
.
3. N.a. 2011, ‘Mattel shuts flagship Shanghai Barbie
concept store’, BBC News Business, 7
March, viewed 18 April 2014, .
4. Rauhala, E 2011, ‘In Shanghai, Barbie’s Dream House
Crumbles’, TIME, 8 March, viewed 18
April 2014,
.
5. Wang, H H 2013, ‘Can Mattel Make A Comeback In
China?’, Forbes, 17 November, viewed
18 April 2014,
.
6. Wang, H H 2012, ‘Why Barbie Stumbled in China and How
She Could Re-invent Herself’, Forbes,
24 October, viewed 18 April 2014, .
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