In the Swickben area, a suburb of Los Angeles, stands the Bratz Doll Factory.
The Bratz Doll Factory, spanning 20 acres, is a small and unremarkable factory in the heavily industrialized Swickben area.
Compared to factories that often occupy hundreds of acres, the Bratz Doll Factory seems rather modest.
However, no factory owner in the Swickben area dares to underestimate the Bratz Doll Factory!
This is because they all know that the Bratz Doll Factory is a subsidiary of the SpongeBob House chain stores.
Who doesn't know the name Kyle Page?
As the owner of YT Home Textiles Factory in the Swickben area put it, "The Bratz Doll Factory itself is not remarkable, nor does it have any stunning features, but its owner is Mr. Kyle Page, so everyone gives it some respect."
At the same time, the 20-acre Bratz Doll Factory in the Swickben area is not a factory that produces or manufactures products; it functions more as the headquarters for Bratz Doll's design and research and development.
In this regard, it is similar to many car brands in the United States and Europe.
They retain their headquarters and design/R&D institutions in their home countries, while establishing factories for specific production and manufacturing in countries and regions with low labor costs, such as Australia and Asia.
The same goes for Bratz Doll!
Bratz Doll's design and R&D headquarters are located in the Swickben area of Los Angeles, while the factories responsible for manufacturing and production are set up in China and India.
Low labor costs, land prices, and material costs will significantly increase Bratz Doll's profit margin...
At 9 AM, Taro Hashimoto, President of SpongeBob House chain stores and General Manager of Bratz Doll Company, convened a meeting with a group of executives.
Bryant Ben, the former designer at Mattel Toys, creator of Bratz Doll, and now the Chief Designer of Bratz Doll Company, was also present at the meeting.
The total number of attendees was 15.
"Gentlemen, I have an announcement to make," Taro Hashimoto said solemnly.
Upon hearing this, everyone present immediately sat up straight.
"Yesterday, I received notification from Mr. Page, Chairman of the Group's head office, that our Bratz Doll will be launched ahead of schedule.
I explicitly replied to Chairman Page, agreeing to the early launch of Bratz Doll," Taro Hashimoto announced.
Launched ahead of schedule?
As the matter was rather sudden, everyone present was taken aback.
Since both the chairman and the general manager had agreed, how could they possibly have any objections?
Furthermore, Taro Hashimoto had made it clear that this was an announcement, not a discussion.
"Production department, how much inventory do we currently have?" Taro Hashimoto asked one of the executives.
The executive replied, "The first batch of five Bratz Doll models—Yasmin, Chloe, Cameron, Jade, and Sasha—totals 60,000 units."
"Why so few?"
Before Taro Hashimoto could speak, the other executives below began to discuss amongst themselves.
This number was too low!
"Ahem~" Taro Hashimoto cleared his throat, "You don't have to worry about insufficient stock.
The first batch of 60,000 units of the five Bratz Doll models are just samples.
The second batch of Bratz Dolls has already been shipped and is expected to arrive in the US within three days.
This batch consists of a staggering 1 million dolls."
"I see."
Upon hearing this, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.
1.06 million Bratz Doll figures, for a product not yet launched or marketed, was certainly not a small number.
"Mr. Hashimoto, what about the price?" Chief Designer Bryant Ben inquired.
The other people present were also quite interested in the pricing.
Standard edition: $8.9!
Limited edition: $60!
Premium edition: $110!
Special custom edition: $200!
As soon as this price list was released, it immediately sparked discussion among those present.
"I think it's acceptable."
"That's right! The standard edition of Barbie dolls sells for $9.9, and we're $1 lower than them, which is reasonable, especially since Mattel's Barbie dolls have been popular for nearly 50 years."
"The prices for the limited and premium editions are also quite reasonable.
From the very beginning of our design, we made almost stringent distinctions in the materials and decorations for the standard, limited, and premium editions.
The production costs for the limited and premium editions are also several, or even more than ten, times that of the standard edition."
"The special custom edition costs $200 each, and those are modeled after Hollywood stars.
We paid a huge endorsement fee, so how can we not make them a bit more expensive?"
"Exactly!"
"Mattel Barbie's celebrity special custom editions can cost as much as $300.
That's outrageous; we, on the other hand, are so conscientious."
...Everyone discussed animatedly.
Overall, the pricing of Bratz Doll was slightly lower than that of Barbie dolls.
After all, Mattel's Barbie dolls have decades of brand recognition and influence.
While discussing, everyone didn't forget to mock Mattel's "black heart" and praise their own Bratz Doll's "conscience."
But!
But if you knew the production cost of a single Bratz Doll, you would never call it conscientious!
Including costs such as land, factory buildings, equipment, materials, capital, and labor, the average cost per Bratz Doll was only $1.
Based on the standard edition's selling price of $8.9, for every standard Bratz Doll sold, Kyle earned a gross profit of $7.9.
A profit margin of 7 to 8 times!
This perfectly illustrates the idea that capital, upon entering the world, is exploitative and dirty!
Don't call Kyle heartless; in fact, Mattel's Barbie dolls have a profit margin of at least 10 times, making them even more ruthless!
The limited, premium, and celebrity custom editions of Bratz Doll are actually not very numerous.
It's about hype; scarcity increases value!
For example, the first batch of 20,000 Barbie dolls produced by Mattel in 1959 is now worth around $70,000 to $80,000 on the auction market.
Similarly, the "Stefano Canturi" Barbie doll, released by Mattel to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Barbie's debut, had an even more astonishing price.
It was crafted by a famous designer and adorned with a high-end jewelry set, including Stefano's "Cubism" necklace.
This necklace was designed with three-carat white diamonds and one-carat rare pink emerald-cut diamonds.
She also wore the company's iconic diamond ring on her right hand.
Whether it was her magnificent black gown or her perfect eyebrows, this Barbie doll looked stunningly beautiful, making everyone desire one.
This Barbie doll was auctioned in New York for $300,000!
All these examples illustrate the importance of "hype," "marketing," and "promotion."
"Our boss, Mr. Page, had his assets exposed by the Global Times, which has caused a huge sensation in the United States.
Furthermore, with International Children's Day approaching, our Bratz Doll, once launched, with its anti-traditional and anti-Barbie design philosophy, is bound to trigger market enthusiasm!"
Taro Hashimoto exclaimed excitedly, "Bratz Doll will undoubtedly lead the trend of a new era!"
...With various matters confirmed, the media power of Golden Dawn Entertainment Group immediately went into full swing, aggressively promoting Bratz Doll.
The anti-traditional, anti-Barbie design philosophy...
Yasmin, Chloe, Cameron, Jade, and Sasha—these beautiful young girls broke away from the dignified and graceful style that Barbie dolls adhered to.
They come from different ethnic backgrounds, have different skin tones, dress fashionably, are full of vitality, and exude a strong sense of trendiness!
As soon as the promotion was launched, it instantly attracted children in the 7-12 age group!