Things are jumping in doll land

Business abhors a vacuum and its looks like the current lack of strong girls’ properties other than the iconic Barbie has drawn two major players into the doll category. MGA, who lost the battle over Bratz to Mattel, is in with its Moxie Girlz line of dolls and Spin Master has introduced its line of Liv dolls.

Their reasons for getting in seem evident. The demise of Bratz as well as the fall off in sales of Hannah Montana, High School Musical, and Littlest Pet Shoppe, among others has created a huge opportunity. Couple that with Barbie’s numbers which are up, but not where they should be in a landscape so barren of competition, and you can see why MGA and Spin Master see an opportunity.

What is intriguing is that the major retailers are supporting them. The reasons for this retail support indicate that: (A) Both manufacturers are dependable vendors of record; (B) both manufacturers are known to be hit makers and (C) the large chains want Barbie to have some competition.

With more retailers getting into the toy business and the doll department getting revitalized, it looks like the new shape of the toy industry is finally coming into focus. What’s next?