Bratz Maker Has the Holidays Wrapped Up
Liliya Shlyakman stood in the doll department at a Los Angeles Toys R Us store just before the holidays, oblivious to everything except a wall of big-eyed dolls in tight clothes.
Mattel Inc.'s Barbie didn't get a passing glance from the 10-year-old girl. She dismissed the company's new hip-hop-themed Flavas dolls with a crinkled nose. Instead, the fifth-grader from Santa Monica had dragged her mother and older brother to see the toy that has made dolls acceptable again to girls older than 7: Bratz.
Created by North Hills-based MGA Entertainment Inc. in 2001, Bratz have quickly become the most successful fashion dolls since Barbie was introduced more than 44 years ago. The Bratz brand last year was the top seller in the $827-million fashion doll category, according to market research firm NPD Group Inc.
Today, after girls across the country find Cloe, Dana, Yasmin and other Bratz under the tree, the dolls again are expected to top the list.
The $25 dolls with the bee-stung lips, short skirts, belly-baring tops and scores of accessories have raised the ire of some parents, who say they exude too much sexuality and set a bad example.
"They look like gang members, and I think it's promoting being a brat -- I just can't do it," said Iris Aviram of Los Angeles, the mother of three daughters who have longed for the doll. "Why don't they have 'nice girl' or 'smart girl'?"
But that's not why Liliya likes them. "They have cooler stuff," she said. "They're more stylish and their eyes and faces are more realistic."
The question now for MGA founder Isaac Larian is whether he is presiding over a company built on lasting brands or one-hit wonders.
"The toy business is a fashion business," Larian said. "If you don't innovate and reinvent yourself two to three times a year, you're not going to be in business. But if you do, you will be rewarded."
So far, privately held MGA has been rewarded with sales that have grown nearly eightfold, from $97 million in 2001 to an estimated $750 million this year.
The company, which employs 185 workers in the United States and 190 in Hong Kong, hired 37 people last month and has openings for 75 more, Larian said. Those additions are among the reasons MGA is moving from its 45,000-square-foot headquarters to a new 155,000-square-foot building just down the street.
