Barbie Busts Out in Shanghai

Mattel is seeking to make up for slowing Barbie sales elsewhere with an aggressive push for Chinese consumers—and not just girls, reports the Washington Post. The company has opened a 6-story flagship store in Shanghai, offering a top-end clothing line and a luxury spa to appeal to professional women drawn to the "Barbie lifestyle." And it's working—judging from the 20- to 30-year-olds in long lines to buy lipstick, chocolates, scarves, and cards.

"Barbie attracts me because she's very feminine and independent. She's in charge of her own life. And she has many different roles," one 25-year-old woman said at the Shanghai store. "But most important are her pretty clothes." (More Barbie stories.)