Barbie Moves to Shanghai to Escape U.S. Recession

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As consumer demand slumps in the U.S. and Europe, Barbie has packed her matching pink luggage and moved to China.

Mattel Inc., the world’s biggest toymaker, shunned London and Paris for the first dedicated store of its bestselling toy and chose instead a six-story building in Shanghai. The outlet opens Friday and offers everything from outfits styled by “Sex and the City” costume designer Patricia Field to beauty treatments to “Bitini” cocktails.

“I like her clothes and shoes,” said 11-year-old Li Qiunan, who has 14 of the blond, blue-eyed dolls and was scouting for another at a Feb. 20 preview of the store on Huaihai Road. “Barbie is charming and attractive.”

Mattel is looking to China for growth after fourth-quarter profit fell 46 percent on the worst U.S. holiday shopping season in four decades. The new store will be the first of a global chain as Mattel expands “aggressively” in China and abroad, said Richard Dickson, general manager for the Barbie brand.




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