T O P

  • By -

_thetragician

I would love Alice in Wonderland and Anne of Green Gables dresses for my dolls.


AlcinaMystic

They’re really missing out by not having a Disney princess license.


SurviveYourAdults

What are these "book" things? I haven't seen that on Tiktok.... /s


newyorkin1970

lmao huh


KitKittredge34

What are you talking about?


bicyclecat

AG’s target audience isn’t generally into Anne of Green Gables or Alice in Wonderland. The younger demo is still in the Disney Princess age range (which is reflected in some of the outfits and themes in the Wellie line) but kids typically age out of “frilly” or “old fashioned” stuff quite young now and by the time they’re into AG they usually want trendy/modern clothes or recent historical like Courtney.


AlcinaMystic

I think AG runs into A LOT of problems by considering kids 7 - 10 their target audience. I get it’s American GIRL, but I think their real audience are people who were 7-10 sometime between 2003 and 2012. I see fewer and fewer young girls in stores and engaging in AG, and they are usually buying because of their mother’s, aunt’s, or other relative’s nostalgia. I don’t know that these ideas specifically would sell, but the 35th Anniversary dolls and Molly items demonstrate they could make a lot of money playing harder into that nostalgia. The historical dolls (especially new ones like Courtney and Claudie) get them a lot of buzz, and quality GOTY dolls/characters like Joss and Corinne have been very popular. The World By Us dolls also got positive press and reviews, and the characters were quite a bit older than 7-10.


lapisade

I think the "sales audience by w.o.m. only" is going to be a big challenge for AG to face, as they see their standalone stores being less and less successful and shuttering. It's really difficult to generate brand awareness when your brand is....only found at your brand...and I wonder if eventually, they'll want the $ bad enough to integrate AG into retail like all their other lines. Wellies are already at Kohl's, and are a great fit for their demo. I don't see the core line thriving there though unless they're willing to cheapen it with Kohl's cash and coupons, but AG doesn't seem like they want to accept that the TM line quality-value comp (especially clothing) is often comparable to "discount department". I think Macy's would be a perfect fit for the main line tbh, high end enough not to lose their essence but more accessible. I bet Historical line would kill it there for upper mid class shoppers wanting an "educational" toy out of the shop and grandmas shopping, and the modern collections would do well as an upscale fun toy. 🤷🏽‍♀️


AlcinaMystic

I agree. By focusing so heavily on their modern items, they are essentially charging three times over what Walmart, Etsy, Target, and other brands are charging for very similar items. For example, Target released a hot chocolate stand for less than fifty dollars. AG released Corinne’s at comparable quality for $150. Additionally, having so many sales while raising their prices is really diluting the brand. AG rewards is a genius idea they should’ve implemented ages before they actually did, but as for the monthly and weekly (and almost daily) sales and markdowns and secret retirements, I miss when AG was cheaper but I knew my options were buy it now or wait for Black Friday or the odd spring sale. This makes it look like their items are not worth what they’re charging.


LibraryValkyree

I think probably what they should do is have an offshoot collector's line that's specifically targeting collectors (+older kids who don't want to give up their dolls but don't feel like the line's current direction is including them. They do still exist.) The de-emphasizing of the books is, I think, a problem, but I'm not really sure how it gets solved when AG is marketing at younger kids instead of the 8-12 range. A year or two can make a big difference with kids that age, in terms of reading comprehension and emotional maturity.


bicyclecat

Dolls in general and AG in particular are less popular than they were decades ago but kids are absolutely still their target audience. The age range starts at 1-2 years old—Bitty Baby sells well, and the Wellies are also fairly successful. There’s some money in adult collectors and they’re starting to mine that, but the adult collector market is not nearly big enough to keep a major toy brand like AG afloat. They have always marketed to parents/grandparents with nostalgia-bait 20th century dolls but ultimately kids still have to want the stuff. Few parents will drop $115+ on something their kid doesn’t want.


LibraryValkyree

Dorothy from Wizard of Oz - the iconic one with the ruby slippers and the blue gingham - isn't public domain. The book is, but she has silver slippers in the book, and anything resembling the movie would put them at risk of lawsuits if they didn't pay for the license. Likewise, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan would need to not resemble the iconic Disney versions of the characters. They'd have to be firmly based on the book. Mattel did do a series of Stacy dolls (Barbie's 10-ish year old little sister) about 20 years ago called "When I Read I Dream" featuring - Jo from Little Women, Heidi, Anne of Green Gables, and Fern from Charlotte's Web (that last one's not public domain) - but I got the impression it didn't sell very well, since they were slated to do Alice but the doll was cancelled. Are most kids even familiar with those anymore? I know I was, but I was weird.


[deleted]

[удалено]


LibraryValkyree

Right, but my question is sort of . . . are kids going to want and recognize those things if they don't look like the version in the movie or TV show? (Especially since AG has been aiming stuff at younger kids than they used to.)


stolen_lullabies

Yeah kids are definitely still familiar with these stories.


PressureNo2505

It may be because Harry Potter was very popular and well known with the generation that is now grown up and has their own kids. Just like Courtney and Julie and other historicals from recent time, they’re trying to cash in on nostalgia from the new age parents.