Barbie's China Adventure

Just days before her 50th birthday, Barbie's flagship store in Shanghai opened and is ready for business. I wrote about the Barbie store about a month ago, which has everything Barbie from $15,000 Barbie-inspired Vera Wang wedding dresses to more affordable Barbie chocolates and drinks, like the pink Barbietini.   

Although many Western brands haven't been performing as well in China's current economy, over the last few months, China's retail sales were up around 20% each month last year.  The more expensive items in the Barbie store might not be flying off the shelves right now, but the store provides a strong sense of fantasy and escapism that should lure female consumers of all ages.  

Beyond the young girls who are interested in dressing up in Barbie clothes or seeing the wide selection of dolls, adult women may be interested in eating at the top-floor restaurant headed up by a celebrity chef or spending a day at the Barbie spa.

Because Barbie isn't as established a brand as it is in the U.S., the company has plenty of room to grow.  Estimates indicate that the toys and games market in China should grow at a rate of about 20% annually, and since China's toy market is only about a sixth the size of the U.S.'s market right now, there's plenty of room for expansion. 

Mattel sees China as a huge opportunity, and even though it only represents about 2.5% of global sales, Richard Dickson, head of Mattel's Barbie brand, told the AFP that China should be Barbie's top market in five to ten years.  While the unveiling of this Shanghai superstore isn't without its risks, if Mattel is able to tap into the market, the payoff could be extraordinary.

Considering that today is the store's opening day, Barbie still has to prove itself in the Chinese markets.  But given that Barbie's had just about every profession from a rocket scientist to a rock star, she should be up to the challenge.