C'mon Barbie...
Financial Express Mumbai|July 31, 2023
LICENSED MERCHANDISE | Can India move beyond Doraemon and Pokemon?
AKANKSHA NAGAR
C'mon Barbie...

PRODUCED BY MATTEL Films, the Barbie movie has set a benchmark of sorts with over 100-plus brand collaborations earning millions in merchandising revenue. From Crocs to Airbnb, from Aldo to Etsy, brands have put a Barbiecore spin on some of their popular products this summer. So you have Barbie-branded baby rompers, drinkware, make-up kits, accessories and every other kind of sartorial allusions that come to mind.Barbie's owner Mattel has also released an entire collection of Barbie merchandise, including sweatshirts, bucket hats, hoodies to make the most of the doll mania.

Now try thinking of one Indian movie - just one - that has been able to build a web of collaborations of that magnitude. Nada? Maybe a tenth of that size? Still nothing?

That's the point. Apart from a Chhota Bheem here or a Bal Ganesh there, there's been little effort to build an ecosystem that can support the market for licensed merchandise in the country. As Jiggy George, founder and CEO, Dream Theatre, told this newspaper in an earlier interview, "Licensing is all about building brands, but in India, the majority of them get it wrong because they want to start with licensing without building brands."

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