More than 40 years since she first saw the light of day, Barbie is still a great favourite and has entrenched itself as a lifestyle brand for little girls who are not only buying more clothes, accessories and other merchandise for their Barbie dolls than ever before, but the girls are also purchasing Barbie branded clothes for themselves. 
Last year saw a 32.67% growth in Barbie licensed merchandise and figures just released by Blue Horizon Licensing show a 34.85% growth in the first quarter of 2005 over the corresponding period last year.
Michelle Reid, Managing Director of Blue Horizon Licensing, says: "In our market, that's phenomenal. Apparel and accessories, in particular, are huge areas for us with a first quarter growth this year of 112 %"
Blue Horizon Licensing is the South African agent for Mattel Brands Consumer Products, as distinct from the distribution of the doll and computer-based products such as videos and DVDs.
Reid ascribes the strong Barbie showing to the dynamic brand building by United States-based Mattel Brands over the past 46 years: "In close on five decades, Barbie has maintained her spotless image. Barbie is a clean value based brand. It's an aspirational brand."
Barbie apparel and accessories sold in South Africa are designed exclusively for the South African market, with attention given to styles that conform to the image of a particular retail outlet. Among the major local retailers for Barbie apparel and accessory products are Woolworths, Edgars and Mr Price.
As a result of age compression children up to the age of 12 who traditionally played with Barbie dolls now aspire to the technologically advanced toys and are moving away from traditional toys. The trend to a declining age group has, in turn, flowed into another trend as the major market for Barbie dolls has broadened.
Every year Mattal Brands introduces a new range of Dolls of the World that have included Hispanic, African American and Asian dolls. This, Reid emphasises, is done in a quiet, non-patronising way: "Barbie has never been patronising, and never will be."
Looking to the future, Reid predicts strong growth in the consumer product market for the Barbie brand in South Africa.
No research has been done locally, but a recent United States, NPD Report indicated that that Barbie holds numerous No 1 positions in the industry: Barbie is the No 1 property in the toy industry with the next largest competitor Crayola, which is about half of Barbie's size, lagging behind. The research also found that Barbie is the No 1 doll property with a 22% market share compared to its closest competitor with a 15% share. It's also seen as the No 1 learning property with a lead of a 12% market share and the No 1 property at Wal-Mart and Toys R Us throughout 2004 and so far 2005.
