May 26, 2005
HOOK THE MOMS AND THE KIDS FOLLOW:
Mattel Is Building on American Girl's Success: It hopes a new store at the Grove, dedicated to the popular dolls, will draw girls and big sales. (Melinda Fulmer, May 26, 2005, LA Times)
Parents, watch your wallets. Mattel Inc. is planning a new shopping destination for girls that promises extreme sticker shock.The El Segundo company plans to announce today that it will open its third American Girl Place store, in the Grove shopping center in Los Angeles' Fairfax district.
The store, aimed at girls 7 to 11 and modeled on successful locations in Chicago and New York, will open next spring in the two-story space shuttered by toy retailer FAO Schwarz Inc. last year.
Building a premium toy store on the site of a failed counterpart may not seem like the smartest bet, but analysts say the two retailers' approaches are different.
"A typical toy store sells commodity items," said Kurt Barnard, president of Barnard's Retail Consulting Group in New Jersey. "You can go inside and find toys for 59 cents. At American Girl, you are lucky if you get away with $79."
Indeed, while FAO and other retailers have been forced to compete with discounters such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp., American Girl caters to customers for whom cachet trumps price, selling them dolls, books and a bimonthly magazine.
The Daughter kinda likes them, but The Wife and Grandmothers have serious joneses. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 26, 2005 7:59 AM
Do you let your daughter have those horrible Bratz dolls?
Posted by: Governor Breck at May 26, 2005 8:09 AMWe took my daughter to the New York store for her birthday. She and my wife, and one of her dolls, attended a luncheon and a show. It is a very efficient system for separating you from your money.
Posted by: David Cohen at May 26, 2005 8:22 AMWith 2 daughters in that age group, a wife who collects dolls, and has dolls her grandmother collected we have become very familiar with American Girl and their merchandise.
Posted by: AWW at May 26, 2005 8:41 AMFortunately, my daughter only likes animals. So there are no Barbies, Bratz, American Girls, etc. in our house. The occasional one she gets from friends at birthdays she allows my sons to decapitate, mangle and dismember. But if either of my sons touches any of her 10,000 beanie babies it must be laundered. They (the boys) pick boogers (the middle one in secret, the youngest openly, but my daughter always catches both of them at it) and she will not stand for that.
I agree with Lileks that Bratz dolls look like crack w***es in training.
Posted by: Buttercup at May 26, 2005 9:33 AMBetween American Girls and Build a Bear Workshop, they can't print the money fast enough.
Posted by: pchuck at May 26, 2005 10:26 AMMy son (4.5) has immersed my daughter (almost 3) in the world of Thomas. She barely touches her one Barbie. Don't come between her and her Toby.
Posted by: jim hamlen at May 26, 2005 10:30 AMMan, has our society ever went down hill. I'm blaming Mr. Potato Head. Including me, evidently. I almost spelled Potato, Potatoe.
Posted by: AllenS at May 26, 2005 11:20 AMThomas himself is not, but I'm partial to Salty.
We are taking the kids to "A Day Out with Thomas" at a NC mountain railroad in two weeks. The boy has been before, but when his sister sees the big blue engine pull into the station, she will probably run over and try to kiss the engine.
There is a real live Toby, but only in England.
Posted by: jim hamlen at May 26, 2005 12:14 PMDuke rules.
Posted by: oj at May 26, 2005 12:18 PMShe Who Is Perfect In All Ways is hooked on "American Girl" as well, although sadly Girl One is still too young to appreciate the fine fashions on offer. I strongly suspect that it will be SWIPIAW driving more future purchases than Girl One. I expect some heartbreak though, as Girl One is by far messier than either of her brothers (the daycare told me "she is the messiest toddler we've ever seen"). Somehow, I don't think that will interact well with expensive little outfits.
Posted by: Annoying Old Guy at May 26, 2005 12:26 PMPrediction: someone will write a PhD thesis on this topic: "From Barbie to the American Girl -- The Evolving Inculaton of Gender-Styming Stereotypes Among Pre-Pubescent American Females."
Posted by: Jim Siegel at May 26, 2005 9:34 PMNo Bratz, Build a Bears, or American Girls for my daughters. We have scores of stuffed animals though, along with every "Land Before Time" and "Veggie Tale" movie on video or DVD.
Posted by: Dave W at May 27, 2005 11:56 PM