芭比娃娃想在新兴市场大展拳脚

    尽管新兴市场有着庞大的年轻人口，但美泰（Mattel）和孩之宝（Hasbro）等美国玩具公司尚未把这些国家变成巨大的盈利中心。

    但他们已经学到了一些东西。例如，芭比娃娃在中国的首秀有点冷清，但欧睿信息咨询公司（Euromonitor）在今年春季发布的报告显示，“美泰正悄悄享受着（芭比娃娃）在印度的强劲表现所带来的回报”。

    她在那里为何如此热销？首先，美泰在印度推出了以好莱坞明星卡特莉娜•卡芙为原型的芭比娃娃。这是“I Can Be”系列中的一个。在美国，“I Can Be”系列芭比娃娃的职业包括护士、音乐教师和总统。在印度，卡特莉娜•卡芙玩偶堪称吸引当地市场的代表作。

    美泰不久前才从中国铩羽而归。2009年，美泰在上海开设了首个芭比娃娃商店（六层楼都摆满了各类芭比娃娃商品），但反响并不热烈。芭比娃娃的性感造型令中国父母们望而却步。晨星公司（Morningstar）分析师杰米•卡茨说，虽然美泰的这个芭比娃娃商店销售清淡，但公司最后应该会在中国再试一次。“凭借适当的服装以及某些不同的面部特征或产品，或许芭比娃娃能够毫不费力地卷土重来。”

    美泰确实打算卷土重来。“作为世界上最大的玩具公司，美泰拥有适应国际市场并藉此发展壮大的良好记录。”美泰发言人艾伦•希洛维茨说，“近些年来，我们的国际业务在总体业务中的占比从35%提高到了50%。我们打算进一步扩大这个数字。”

     到目前为止，玩具公司还在努力。5月15日，欧睿信息咨询公司的玩具和游戏分析师罗伯特•波特发布了题为《玩具在中国：水，到处是水，但一滴都喝不到？》（Toys in China -- Water, Water Everywhere but Not a Drop to Drink?）的报告。该报告指出，中国市场将在今后5年增长近47亿美元。但波特说，没有哪家公司的市场份额超过5%。

    对玩具公司来说，中国市场难以渗透。部分原因在于美国玩具很昂贵。美国父母往往拥有更多的可支配收入花在孩子身上。“在这些国家里，有很多人都生活贫困。”晨星公司的卡茨说，“他们的钱必须用来买生活必需品而不是玩具。”

    以前，美泰曾将其产品的高昂价格作为其优势的体现。“西方市场的高档和新兴市场的高档大为不同。”欧睿信息咨询公司的行业分析师吉德里乌斯•道约塔斯说。例如，美泰在美国只是一家普通的玩具公司，但在拉丁美洲却把自己塑造为高档品牌。

    “他们向有钱的父母们推销，然后其他所有人都想买他们的东西。”卡茨说，“于是，他们就成了玩具界的露露柠檬（Lululemon，美国瑜伽服饰热门品牌——译注）。”到目前为止，这个策略很有效。欧睿信息咨询公司在今年春季发布的那份报告显示，“对美泰来说，拉丁美洲已经成为价值10亿美元的市场，并且每年都在变得更加重要。”

    也许高档策略在亚洲也将奏效，但正如美泰从芭比娃娃在中国的失利中学到的那样，每个市场都有各自的特点。目前，高档玩具仍然是小众市场。在新兴市场，“当人们拥有更多的钱来花销时，他们将选择购买高档的婴儿食品品牌”，道约塔斯说。与玩具相比，“婴儿食品或许更像是必需品。”（财富中文网）

    译者：千牛絮

    While emerging markets tend to have big, young populations, American toy companies such as Mattel and Hasbro have yet to turn them into large profit centers.

    They have, however, learned a few things. Barbie, for example, had a bit of a botched debut in China, but, according to a spring report from Euromonitor, "Mattel has been quietly enjoying the rewards of a strong performance by [Barbie] in India."

    Why does she sell so well there? For one thing, in India, Mattel (MAT) released a Barbie modeled after popular Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif. The doll was part of a line called "I Can Be." In America, "I Can Be" Barbie occupations include nurses, music teachers, and the President. In India, the Katrina Kaif doll represents a role model that appeals to the local market.

    Mattel had just come off a flub in China. In 2009, it opened the first Barbie store in Shanghai -- six floors worth of Barbie paraphernalia -- but the concept didn't take. Chinese parents were turned off by what they saw as the over-sexualization of the doll. Though Mattel's Barbie complex was a miss, the company should eventually have another shot at China, says Jaime Katz, an analyst at Morningstar. "Probably Barbie can make a very easy comeback with the right attire, maybe some different features or products."

    Mattel certainly plans a comeback. "As the world's largest toy company, Mattel has a proven track record of adapting and thriving in the global marketplace," Mattel spokesperson Alan Hilowitz says. "In recent years our international business shifted from 35% of our total business to 50% of our business today, and we plan to grow that number."

    Toy companies have struggled, so far, to crack the promising Chinese market. On May 15, Euromonitor toys and games analyst Robert Porter, published a report called "Toys in China -- Water, Water Everywhere but Not a Drop to Drink?" According to the report, the market is set to grow by nearly $4.7 billion over the next five years. No one company, Porter says, has more than 5% market share.

    China has been tough for toy companies to penetrate, in part, because U.S. toys are expensive. American parents tend to have much more discretionary income to spend on their children. "There are a lot of people living in poverty in some of these countries," says Morningstar's Katz. "They're still going to need to pay for necessities rather than toys."

    Mattel has actually used its products' high price point to its advantage in the past. "What's premium in the Western market and what's premium in emerging markets is very different," says Giedrius Daujotas, an industry analyst with Euromonitor. Mattel, for example, may be just another toy company in the U.S., but it positions itself as a premium brand in Latin America.

    "They market to wealthy parents, and then everybody else wants to trade up to them," Katz says, "There, they're the Lululemon of toys." So far, the strategy has worked. According to the spring Euromonitor report, "For Mattel, Latin America is already a US$1 billion market and is becoming more important with every year."

    Perhaps the premium strategy will work with Asia, but as Mattel learned from its troubles with Barbie in China, every market has its own quirks. For now, nice toys remain a niche buy. In emerging markets, "when people have more cash to spend, they're choosing to buy premium baby food brands," Daujotas observes. Compared to toys, "baby food may be a bit more of a necessity."