Barbie might be popular for both children and adults this holiday season.
Mattel’s iconic doll is expected to be the most requested toy by girls in the United States, for the fifth year in a row. Bratz came in second, according to a study commissioned by the National Retail Federation and conducted by Ohio-based BIGresearch. Dora the Explorer and Disney Princess products followed.
But El Segundo-based Mattel Inc. is hoping little girls aren’t the only ones who are interested in Barbie. The company wants to bank on the nostalgia associated with her 50-year history. Mattel has teamed up with a variety of fashion and beauty companies in the past including MAC Cosmetics to make grownup products, and most recently is working with Patricia Field on a collection of Barbie-inspired women’s clothes.
Though other designers, such as Anna Sui, have created Barbie frocks in the past, this is the first complete collection of adult apparel with the Barbie theme.
Field, a New York-based fashion designer known for creating clothes for the “Sex and the City” TV show, has included items in her new collection such as T-shirts and accessories with the Barbie logo, and satin and leopard print dresses reminiscent of vintage dolls.
Field’s Barbie Luxe line is sold exclusively in Macy’s stores, starting in 20 to 30 locations, with prices from $60 to $200.
Mattel was one of 20 companies named last week in a lawsuit by the California attorney general and the Los Angeles city attorney. The suit accuses the companies of manufacturing or selling toys with unlawfully high levels of lead. Mattel has struggled this year with a number of large-scale recalls of toys manufactured in China, including several Barbie accessories.
The companies could be required to pay as much as $2,500 per day per “violation,” or every time a consumer was exposed to a contaminated toy.
Delisting Religion?
Vernon-based True Religion Apparel Inc. received a letter from the Nasdaq Stock Market warning that it could be delisted due to a delay in filing its earnings report for the third quarter ending Sept. 30.
The company said that a correction was needed on its reports for the 2005 and 2006 fiscal years, as well as on reports for the first and second quarters of 2007, before it could release its newest results.
In response to the delisting warning, True Religion requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel; pending the board’s decision, the company will remain listed.
Letters from the Nasdaq for late reporting are not out of the ordinary in most cases, said Roxanne Meyer, a retail analyst with CIBC World Markets. Some companies make a regular habit of reporting late, she noted.
This is the second such notice that True Religion has received in recent months. True Religion also reported its second-quarter results late and received a letter warning of delisting. In that case, True Religion reported its results soon after and remained listed.
True Religion is in fact experiencing healthy growth, according to its unofficial, preliminary third-quarter results.
While much of the retail environment is pinched in the face of the credit crunch and a bleak holiday outlook, True Religion reported net sales of $48.7 million, up from $43.2 million in the third quarter of 2006 an increase of 12.8 percent. Contributing in large part to its sales successes were online sales and branded True Religion stores.
Last year in the third quarter there was only one full-price True Religion store and one outlet store versus 11 full-price and two outlet stores now.
Net income also increased to $28 million this quarter from $22.7 million a year ago.
Plans for Parking
Beverly Hills shoppers will be able to park for free for two hours at city-owned garages starting this holiday season.
The City Council voted unanimously to increase the time of free parking from one to two hours at four parking locations on Beverly Drive and Brighton Way, effective last week.
The city has been trying to decide how to handle parking rate regulations since the 2003 and 2004 budget planning process, when the council took $2.8 million from meter income in the Parking Enterprise Fund and transferred it to the General Fund in order to avoid a budget deficit.
In early 2006, Beverly Hills cut free parking time from two hours to one at a number of the city’s 15 municipal parking garages in order to narrow the Parking Enterprise Fund deficit.
The council is going back to two-hour free parking because it doesn’t want shoppers to shy away from the area.
Staff reporter Sarah Filus can be reached at
[email protected]
or (323) 549-5225, ext. 235.
