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Barbie Busts Out in Shanghai

Hit Shanghai megastore sells 'Barbie lifestyle' to adult women

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Apr 6, 2009 8:39 AM CDT

(Newser) – Mattel is seeking to make up for slowing Barbie sales elsewhere with an aggressive push for Chinese consumers—and not just girls, reports the Washington Post. The company has opened a 6-story flagship store in Shanghai, offering a top-end clothing line and a luxury spa to appeal to professional women drawn to the "Barbie lifestyle." And it's working—judging from the 20- to 30-year-olds in long lines to buy lipstick, chocolates, scarves, and cards.

"Barbie attracts me because she's very feminine and independent. She's in charge of her own life. And she has many different roles," one 25-year-old woman said at the Shanghai store. "But most important are her pretty clothes."

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The Barbie Shanghai flagship store is seen in Shanghai, China, the day before its grand opening last month. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Barbie cocktails are prepared for guests at the opening ceremony of the Barbie Shanghai flagship store Friday March 6, 2009 in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

Guests including film actor Jet Li cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony of Barbie Shanghai flagship store Friday March 6, 2009 in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

People walk past a shop selling Barbie dolls Thursday March 12, 2009 in Shanghai, China. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

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Mattel is thinking to rebuild the brand image here as a dream, a paradise not only for little girls but for their mothers, too. - Sun Yimin, a marketing professor at Shanghai's Fudan University

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Barbie Busts Out in Shanghai