The Barbie phenomenon in numbers: The ten most obvious facts about the Barbie business

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Almost every girl born in a developed country after 1960 has played with Barbie dolls. Thousands of both mass-produced and limited edition Barbie models have been created over the past sixty years. It’s a billion dollar business.

On March 9, 1959, the first Barbie doll was sold. According to manufacturer Mattel, more than a billion Barbies have been sold in stores so far. Mattel continues to sell 50 to 60 million Barbies each year.

You can probably find a Barbie doll anywhere, whether in its original packaging or used toy. Official sales points in 150 countries (approximately 200 countries worldwide).

In 2022, Barbie creator Mattel had sales of $5,435 billion and a profit of $394 million. That doesn’t just include Barbie sales – the group owns a total of 221 brands (including Fisher-Price, Uno and Hot Wheels). However, the Barbie brand alone generated more than a quarter of total annual sales at $1.49 billion.

In 2022, Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz (58) was paid $15.5 million. COO Richard Dickson (52) earned $7.75 million.

The first Barbie cost $3. Based on today’s purchasing power, this equates to around $31.50. Barbies currently range in the US from $20 to $1,000 depending on model and accessories. Prices in Switzerland are similar.

The most expensive Barbie doll to date received $302,500. It was built by Australian jewelery designer Stefano Canturi and is a one-off. The baby wears a white diamond necklace and a rare pink diamond from Australia’s Argyle mine.

The best-selling model by far was the “Totally Hair Barbie” with hair that reaches the floor. It was released in 1992 and has sold over 10 million copies.

The rarest and oldest models can cost up to $25,000. Traditional limited-edition Barbies are valued at $1,000-7,000, and “Holiday Barbies” are valued at $2,000, according to popular collectibles websites. “Color Magic Barbies” can win $1000. By the way: the Barbie predecessor “Bild Lilli” from Germany, produced from 1955 to 1964, reaches even higher collector prices.

Sales of dolls dropped slightly in 2022. But the level of awareness is still huge. One indicator is social media: The Barbie YouTube channel has over 20 million subscribers and 23 billion minutes of watch time. Barbie apps have an average of more than 7 million monthly active users.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Bettina Dorfmann from Düsseldorf (Germany) has the largest collection with more than 17,000 dolls – the oldest from 1966.

Source :Blick