This year, Mattel has expanded its American Girl doll brand to include a boy—its first ever. But there's now more competition. American Girl's Luke will compete with newcomer brand Boy Story, a Tampa, Florida-based brand selling 18" male dolls that launched via Kickstarter last May. Though Boy Story dolls typically retail for $99, or $20 less than American Girl, the company sells a pricier $120 doll where 35% of the proceeds go to UN Women's HeForShe initiative for gender equality. A mother of boys, Kristen Jarvis Johnson said she co-founded Boy Story to balance out the girl dolls already in existence. It's "marketed for all kids," she said, noting that the company has created individual face molds for different ethnicities to be truly representative. Meanwhile, Hasbro is rolling out more variations on its decades-old Baby Alive doll. The product now sells boy and girl dolls in more than a half-dozen different ethnicities. New this year is a switch to "Daddy" play mode when the talking doll is programmed to say "Daddy." "We have a doll for every kid—both boys and girls who are interested," said a spokeswoman for Pawtucket, RI-based Hasbro. Similarly, toy maker Adora showcased doll accessories, such as a stroller and diaper bag, in green in order to attract more boys to its products. The Toy Fair even featured a transgender doll—Tonner Doll Co. created a doll version of transgender teen Jazz Jennings, who has a show on TLC. "This political environment seemed like the right time to put this doll out," said Robert Tonner, chief executive, owner and designer, noting that the way kids look at beauty is socially transformable. Many toy brands are also strengthening their coding and science-based offerings for girls. Hasbro plans to release its first coding toy this fall with Dance Code Belle, a Disney Princess Belle that is programmable via a free app where kids can learn basic coding technique. Experts expect the innovation to continue as toymakers become more sophisticated with both product and marketing. Brands like American Girl and Barbie now host their own YouTube series, as does Hasbro's Littlest Petshop. "They've made the transition to digital advertising in a heartbeat," said TIA's Mr. Pasierb. As toy brands evolve, some of their retailers are struggling with the balancing act between brick-and-mortar and e-commerce. After a less-than-robust holiday shopping season, Toys R Us recently laid off 250 corporate staffers, or as much as 15% of staff, according to reports earlier this week.-
Toy companies, including Mattel and Hasbro, are starting to defy gender stereotypes by producing dolls for boys. Mattel has this year included its first ever male doll in its American Girl brand, whilst newly-established company Boy Story is also selling similar items. Hasbro now offers male and female dolls in over half a dozen ethnicities. Toy company Adora is also making accessories in green in the hope that this will attract boys. As we reported yesterday, Tonner Doll Company recently launched the first ever transgender doll. Toy sales in the US rose 5% to $26bn between 2015 and 2016.