Barbie on the comeback

She has an enviable figure; a cute, on-again/ off-again boyfriend; and a wardrobe to die for. Barbie has been a model and a pilot, a princess, a surfer and a veterinarian. Most important, nearly 50 years since she debuted, Barbie is a survivor.

Like an aging homecoming queen who finds herself in a midlife crisis, Barbie — who dominated the fashion-doll shelves for decades — saw her sales figures fall for about five straight years before making a modest recovery last fall.

There are many reasons why Barbie isn’t the coolest girl in class anymore and why parent company Mattel is working to correct that. She has lots of competition, from high-tech toys as well as Bratz dolls. Bratz, with their multicultural look, glittery eye shadow and street-wise vibe, have been chipping away at Barbies’ sales since they were introduced in 2001.

“Bratz have taken away some of the market share among 7-to 9-year-olds,” says Jim Silver, editor of the magazine Toy Wishes — The Ultimate Guide to Family Entertainment. “Barbie got hurt in the older ages group. We don’t see Bratz with the 3- to 5-year-olds.”

Therein lies part of the problem. Barbie — once the teen doll that preteens played with — is now largely seen as a preschool toy.

“Instead of an 8-year-old playing with Barbie and rebelling against the little childhood things, Barbie became the doll you give your 2-year-old,” says Gary Cross, professor of history at Penn State University and author of the book “Kids’ Stuff: Toys and the Changing World of American Childhood.” “Girls don’t see Barbie as an act of rebellion anymore. They see her as a fairy princess.”

Mattel realizes this and has segmented the Barbie collection to have appeal to preschoolers (the Fairytopia collection), older girls (Fashion Fever) and even preteens (the My Scene collection).

“We take our inspiration for Barbie based on little girls today — how they’re playing, what they’re doing,” Chuck Scothon, head of Mattel’s girl’s division, says via e-mail from a Hong Kong toy meeting. “We communicate with girls and moms all over the world all year long.”

Jansi Patel of Ashburn is crazy about the Fairytopia and 12 Dancing Princesses collection of Barbies. At age 4, she is exactly the target audience Mattel is seeking — appreciating the Barbie brand early, then growing along with it.

Jansi and her mother, Jackie, were at the Sterling Toys R Us recently looking for the right Prince Derek doll to add to Jansi’s collection.

“We have about 12 Barbies,” Mrs. Patel says. “I grew up playing Barbies, but my older daughter didn’t like them. I was a little disappointed. I think Barbie is a great toy. We dress her up, and Jansi uses her imagination.”

The fight for the attention of girls like Jansi isn’t new. It is just more pronounced in this era of toys that “do” things, says Eric Clark, author of the book “The Real Toy Story.”

Barbie has struggled before. Sales slowed at the height of the women’s movement, when Barbie’s 2-inch waist and dream house seemed so shallow in a changing world where real-life women were urged to aim higher than just a date with Ken.

“Barbie has hit bottom before,” Mr. Clark says. “In the 1980s, Mattel hired new management, and they turned Barbie into a global brand.”

Mattel points out the Barbie brand is still going strong. The company estimates that 90 percent of American girls ages 3 to 10 own at least one Barbie. The National Retail Federation said in November that Barbie is the No. 1 toy for girls. Meanwhile, Barbie.com is among the top-five most-visited children’s Web sites, and Barbie DVDs routinely top the children’s video charts.

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