Part 2- Practical Application: CASE STUDY MattelYou are to stand the best possible chance of making and delivering products and services that your customers need and want fromneeds and wants are.you,thenyouneedknow what customers'However, knowing what your customers genuinely need and want from you, how much they are prepared to pay for this, and how often they are prepared do business with you arethe foundations of success, and as such distinguish the successful from the less so and the failures.The Barbie organization was one of the first to recognize the importance of this, and, crucially, to take the next step and integrate the management of market and customerinformation into its product and brand development strategy. The Barbie organization was founded by Ruth Handler, who carne across a German toy doll called Bild Lilli andreworked the design of the doll and named it after her own small daughter Barbara's family nicknameBarbie. The doll went into production and the company started operations in1956.The company set out to know everything that it possibly could about its customers - their buying habits, frequency of purchases, attitudes and values. They sought to understand thekinds of products that customers would and would not buy, and the life span of the dolls and their accessories. The result was akin to military intelligence gathering in its coverageand comprehensiveness, and both Ruth Handler and the Mattel organization (which took over the Barbie range of products in 1961) subsequently always boasted that they knewmore about their customers than anyone else in the world.The result was that when the first dolls arrived on the shelves of the world's toy shops in 1959, everyone was eagerly anticipating what they would look like and how the venturefrom a business point of view - quite literally: 'how it would play'. It became clear that there was a huge demand, not just for the dolls as they were, but also for productswouldgothat would go with them - clothes, accessories and other add-ons.From all of this grew what has come to be known as 'the eleven-inch doll market'. There was (and remains) a clear structure to this market:• the products are bought by mothers and aunts for girls aged two and overthe products are of value to girls aged two and over, as well as being acceptable and of value to those who buy them• the products are played with and enjoyed by girls, and they also have to be acceptable to her friends and others whose opinions they value and respond• the products have a limited useful life, and the clothes, accessories and add-ons are a fundamental part of product effectiveness and value and brand development. To remain successful, the company needed a regular flow of new products coming on stream all the time. It therefore needed to know and understand the kinds of products thatwould keep the customers coming back again and again. Part of the problem that had to be overcome was the availability of choices, both within the eleven-inch doll market, andalso outside it (nobody likes to be limited to any one thing, and the buyers and consumers of Barbie dolls are no different). So the brand logo and distinctive colour scheme (a brightpink) were developed so as to be capable of being attached to every product that came out. Also, the core range of products had to be universally available, and at prices that wouldallow for unconsidered, whim and largely cash purchases to be made. So the products were made available at all possible outlets, including supermarkets, department stores andindependent corner shops. In the UK and many parts of the USA and the EU, the decline of independent toy shops made this range of outlets essential.As the result, the product range now covers themed toys (castles, stables, cars, accessories for dolls' houses), films and video productions, cards and books, and other dolls (Barbienow has a large circle of friends and acquaintances, and a boyfriend Ken, who she separated from in 2004, but in 2006 they were hoping to rekindle their relationship, after Ken hada makeover). There is also a large range of accessories and add-ons for girls to use, including shoes, bracelets, bags, and hair and cosmetic products, which all carry the Barbie brand.There are limited editions, Christmas and seasonal specials, collectors' items and other exclusives. Barbie has had many careers, including surgeon, nanny, show jumper andschoolteacher, and each career has carried its own range of clothes and accessories. She has had over 40 pets and owned a wide range of vehicles. The first Barbie department storeopened in Shanghai in 2009, and more are expected to follow.The company carefully evaluates everything that carries the Barbie brand for compatibility as well as acceptability, and this remains a core priority of the market intelligenceoperation as well as product design. The fundamental wholesomeness of the products, and especially the images of girls and women that are portrayed, continues to be debatedNevertheless, it is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries and the company states that it sells one Barbie product every sevenseconds somewhere in the world. The overall strategic approach is structured so as to produce an income per customer the UK of £80 per annum.Case study questions• Where does the source of competitive advantage lie for products such as these?• Identify in detail the elements of strategy necessary to ensure that the product remains viable for the next two. five and ten years.• What are the main lessons for leaders and operations managers in all organizations to be learned from the experience and success of the Barbie product and the Mattelorganization?• Suppose you are called in as a creativity consultant to assist in further development of this product, how could new product concepts would further satisfy Mattelorganization's wishes be generated?

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