Sindy doll eyes 50th birthday relaunch

Sindy, Barbie’s British rival, could be set for a UK revival as its British owner looks for a buyer for the brand ahead of a relaunch to celebrate the doll’s 50th birthday.

sindy

Current owner, Pedigree, is looking for a licensing partner or outright buyer for the brand to fuel its future growth.

It is preparing to launch a 50th anniversary Sindy doll next year, which will have blue eyes, purple hair, eyelash extensions and will wear blue legwarmers.

Sindy, created in 1963 as a British rival to Mattell’s all-American doll Barbie, has not been sold in the UK since 2009 as popularity and sales were hit by the launch of modern dolls such as Bratz.

Its success was also dented by the demise of Woolworths in 2008, which had the exclusive rights to sell the dolls in the UK.

In the UK, Sindy held around 80% of the market in the UK until Barbie’s successful launch in the 1980s.

US toy giant Hasbro owned the licensing rights to Sindy in the US for the 1970s to the 1990s but the doll failed to make much of an impact. Licensing rights have also been owned by Vivid Imaginations and New Moons.

Jerry Reynolds, Pedigree’s chief executive, is quoted in The Guardian as saying: “So long as Sindy (and Barbie) seem relevant and keep up with changing tastes and fashions, there is no reason to assume she won’t be around for another 50 years.”

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