Mattel and Hasbro are hardly ready to give up on their core brands. Bob Eckert, Mattel's CEO, plans to overhaul the Barbie brand, infusing her with an edgier lifestyle, and has launched a clothing line and an ad campaign promoting the made-over doll. "Our latest subline, Fashion Fever, is designed to rebuild Barbie's fashion-forward image with girls," says Eckert in a conference call with analysts after releasing dismal third-quarter earnings Oct. 13. At the same time, Hasbro chief Alfred Verrecchia plans to "work on" GI Joe to power up his image.
Yet some experts bet these efforts to save classic toy brands may be in vain. The latest research shows that the surge in technology use has resulted in a spike in children's knowledge development. So, at a younger age, kids have the intellectual capacity and digital dexterity to not only surf the Internet but also play games that are more complex...
In a study, the Youth Trust's Perry found that parents still buy Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars for children under 5, but 46% of these kids like to play outdoors, while 17% are allowed to watch or play some video games. However, the choice of games shifts pretty dramatically as soon as the kids turn 6. In youngsters aged 6 to 8, 40% favored playing outdoors, and 30% preferred video games. Playing with toys dropped from 25% for kids under 5 to zero interest after the age of 9...
As Jason White, an associate editor at toy industry trade magazine Playthings in New York City, says, "Why play with an action figure when you can be the action figure?" White notes that video games for children as young as 4 are also becoming popular.
