SHANGHAI : The six-story emporium, which official opened in March in Shanghai's fancy Huaihai fashion street, is a veritable paean to the shade, from the escalator - a pink tunnel that echoes with pre-recorded girlish giggles - to the custom-made, butterfly-shaped motifs on clothes-racks. There's a spa, a barbie show for little girls , a cosmetics counter, a cocktail bar and designer offerings from the likes of Vera Wang, "Sex and the City" designer Patricia Field and handbag maker...
more »SHANGHAI : The six-story emporium, which official opened in March in Shanghai's fancy Huaihai fashion street, is a veritable paean to the shade, from the escalator - a pink tunnel that echoes with pre-recorded girlish giggles - to the custom-made, butterfly-shaped motifs on clothes-racks. There's a spa, a barbie show for little girls , a cosmetics counter, a cocktail bar and designer offerings from the likes of Vera Wang, "Sex and the City" designer Patricia Field and handbag maker Judith Lieber. There'll even be a Barbie wedding dress, a sleeveless ivory creation from Ms. Wang costing US$15,000.
The store is aimed at widening Barbie's traditional demographic of young girls to include grown women. Chinese women haven't grown up playing Barbie dolls and Mattel does its best to educate potential customers on Barbie history. In China, "we have an opportunity to shape the perception of the brand the way we want it," said Richard Dickson, executive vice president of Barbie brands. "The brand is no longer a doll. The doll is a gateway," he said.
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