Brand is “just at the beginning” of its next stage of growth, says president and coo, Richard Dickson.
Mattel kicked off the 60th anniversary celebrations for Barbie in style last night, with president and coo Richard Dickson telling licensee and retail partners that he thinks the brand is “just at the beginning” of the next stage of growth.
At a special event held at The Saatchi Gallery in London, European partners gathered to mark the start of what will be a year of celebrations for the ‘original fashion model’.
In a two-fold campaign, the first half of the year will focus on ‘celebration’, highlighting real women of achievement, while the second half will highlight fashion, art and music, recognising Barbie as a cultural icon.
Richard was joined on stage by Lisa Weger, regional head of consumer products for Europe, and Janet Hsu, who is just four weeks into her new role of chief franchise management officer at Mattel.
“Barbie inspires and nurtures the limitless potential in every girl,” said Richard. “The brand is enjoying double digit growth and I think we are just at the beginning of the next stage of growth for the brand.
“The brand has nine million YouTube views and is the number one girls brand on YouTube. Barbie is also the number one toy brand in social conversation.
“Not every toy brand – if any – could get on the cover of Time magazine and into the conversation on diversity. Barbie has such cultural relevance and it is for us to take hold of that and direct it.”
Mattel ended the evening with a fashion show, with a number of girls from the brand’s target age groups taking to the catwalk to show some new season designs of Barbie apparel and accessories.
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