Abstract

The case “Barbie’s Bumpy Ride in China” talks about US-based toy company Mattel’s opening of a Barbie flagship store — the House of Barbie — in Shanghai, China. The case starts out by providing details about the company, its launch in Sanghai, China, and its products such as children’s bedroom furniture and young women’s clothes in a 36,000-sq ft six-story building. The case then documents the reasons due to which Barbie was unable to impress the Chinese, leading to the closure of its flagship store in 2011. Further, the case also talks about the relaunching of Barbie in 2013. It concludes with an insight from experts and upper level managers on whether Barbie will make a successful comeback in China.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• To understand international marketing strategies.
• To get to know about marketing strategies in developing countries.
• To understand relaunching and rebranding of products.

Keywords

Mattel,Barbie dolls,Toy industry,Market research,International marketing strategies,Market entry strategy,Relaunching,Brand Decline,Rebranding,Brand Repositioning,Market failure,Emerging markets,China,Localization