They may prefer to buy other toys for their daughters. The 'break up' with Ken to pursue new boyfriends will do little to allay such fears, although theoretically Barbie could also pursue new careers without Ken and focus on things besides looking good in her outfits and in her pink car. However, the fact that Barbie is becoming more of a 'Cali girl' seems to indicate Mattel is going against this strategy and sticking with Barbie's traditional feminine image. To guard against the increased popularity of electronic toys for girls Mattel stated in its press release "Barbie Takes to the Runway at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show" that it has launched a 2008 Barbie interactive computer fashion game for "tech savvy girls."

Bargaining power of suppliers

Barbie still commands an impressive fan base as a brand name, despite the availability of substitute goods. In the press release recap "Barbie Does...
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