American Girl powers Mattel growth as Barbie loses sheen

By means of Dhanya Skariachan and Siddharth Cavale (Reuters) – Chubby-confronted American Woman dolls and the "descendants" of Dracula and Frankenstein's monster are helping Mattel Inc raise sales to pre-teen women as its iconic Barbie franchise shows indicators of aging. The No.1 toymaker mentioned that sales of American Woman dolls and accessories rose by a third to only over $100 million within the first quarter, helping it turn in better-than-anticipated earnings and boosting its shares to close a 15-12 months high. Overall gross sales rose 7 p.c, additionally beating market expectations. …