Barbie In China Essay

Analysis on Barbie in China As we know, Barbie is a very profitable and well-known product in the United States. Barbie has been a leading competitor of many toys such as Bratz, American Dolls, and many more. When China was introduced Barbie in 2009, it did not meet the expectations as the product did in the United States. It was difficult for the product and brand to win the hearts and wallets of the parents in China. The brand then launched Barbie as a “blonde” violin soloist and then a doll that resembled a popular artist in the Chinese culture. The economic factors that are involved in this case are mostly centered around a cultural discrepancy. The families in China did not want to invest the means and enough disposal income for afford the doll and its many accessories. Price and product differentiation was also a leading factor in lack of customers and revenue. In China’s culture, I believe many of the families do not wish to waste money on items …show more content…
If the company researched which type of toys are more acceptable in the China community, then maybe that would have prevented such a negative product approval. I also believe because Barbie is advertised as the “it girl” that only has one main look distracted the girls from wanting a doll that was a representation of someone in their culture. If Barbie was marketed other than just a white woman on television, then they would have been more open to accepting Barbie. For example, when Bratz launched there were four girls of four different backgrounds. Girls grew up wanting the doll that resembled and represented their culture. If Barbie was more diverse in their mainstream marketing, it would have been a better success in China. A great way for Barbie to have introduced the product in China would have been to complete a test run just how TiVo introduced their test product in