28 November, 2009
12 hours inside the Shanghai Barbie store
We issue a dare: spend a full day inside the Barbie kingdom and live to tell the tale. One sucker takes the bait. But is she up to the challenge?
Barbie isn’t just for girls. Every woman has a bit of Barbie in them, too, and the Shanghai Barbie store’s six-floor emporium has enough to keep them going for an entire day. How do we know? Hard-earned experience. When we recently dared one of our writers to lose themselves for a
full 12 hours at the Barbie store, Sophie Lloyd took the bait. Follow the experience through her eyes and read about her day
inside the Shanghai Barbie store: |
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| 10:15am. I arrive at Barbie’s 'dream home' on a
Thursday morning, just after the doors open. The unfinished lobby
doesn’t exactly fill me with excitement, but at least I’m greeted with
a big Barbie smile. |
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| 10:30am. First stop, the passport counter. I fill out
a form, pay RMB 20, smile for the camera and get my very own pink
Barbie passport. I’m now an official citizen of Barbie world, with
several nice discounts that go with it. |
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| 11am: Next stop, the Barbie spa. Leafing through the
extensive menu of very Barbie sounding spa treatments, I decide on a
Plastic Smooth facial -- RMB 380, 75 minutes. I’ll save the Barbie Bust
Firming treatment for another day. |
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| 11:15am: I’m shown into a cozy treatment room where
I’m treated to a 'plastic' facial and massage over the lulling sounds
of classical music. Is Barbie a classical music fan? Job done, my hair
is a mess, but my skin feels refreshed and (almost) smooth as plastic.
I’m impressed. Maybe I’ll come back later and have my hair done. |
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| 12:30pm: Hunger strikes, so I head to the Barbie Café.
I order into a surprisingly sophisticated and tasty selection of very
pink-tastic dishes -- seared pink tuna on crispy wontons (RMB 58),
mini-veggie burgers with pink sauce (beetroot juice is the secret pink
ingredient) and coffee along with dessert. Only problem? Atmosphere.
There aren’t any other customers in sight. |
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| 2pm: I try my hand at styling my very own Barbie doll
at the Design Center. I’m going for the Barbie on the Bund look -- a
red cocktail dress with heels and a clutch. After five minutes, as if
by magic, my new personalized doll appears ready to take home in its
very own box. |
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| 2:30pm: I walk through the Robert Best Designer
Collection exhibition showcasing the dolls designed by Mattel’s top
dog, which also fetch triple the price of the standard dolls. My
personal favorite has to be Movie Mixer Barbie -- she's dressed in a
1950s satin pink ensemble. But Goldie Hawn Barbie comes in at a close
second. |
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| 3:30pm: It’s time for high tea in the Pink Room, an
offspring of the Barbie café. I eye the cupcakes and chocolates, but
settle for a glass of pink lemonade -- if I want to be Barbie I have to
start watching my waistline. I also check my email -- yes Barbie
provides free WiFi. |
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| 4pm: I watch a girl living the dream by posing on the
Fashion Runway in her best Barbie attire while her mum proudly takes
photos. I ask if I can take part, but am informed that this activity is
reserved for little Barbies only. But, come the end of next month, big
girls can play, too, when a collection of adult-sized Barbie
Fashionista costumes are due to arrive. |
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| 4:30pm: I sashay down the spiral Barbie staircase --
it features 875 pink-clad Barbies -- and shop around for a Barbie
souvenir on the third floor. I spot the famous Vera Wang wedding dress
designed exclusively for Barbie. It can be made-to-order for a mere RMB
7 million. I suddenly notice a surprising number of men wandering
around. The floor is the busiest it’s been all day. |
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| 5:30pm: Feeling inspired to introduce more pink into my
life, I purchase a ‘Dreamy Pink’ lipstick from the Barbie cosmetic
counter (RMB 108). I flash my VIP card, but don’t get a discount. I’m
informed it’s only good for ‘selected’ items.' I didn’t read the small
print. Oh well, at least I get a stamp in my passport. |
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| 6pm: I’ve made it through the whole day, but I'm
exhausted. So I head to the sixth floor for happy hour in the Barbie
bar. Like a cross between Barbie and Carrie Bradshaw, I sip on
imaginatively named cocktails: Bubble-licious, Barbie-tini and a
Glamour-politan, all sickly sweet and deliciously pink. Unfortunately,
there are no Kens to enjoy. |
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| 8pm: I’m done. Drunk on pink, I realize I’m one of the
last customers in the store, so I throw in the towel two hours short of
my 12-hour goal. I’ve had all the pink I can take in a day. I bid
farewell to the pink palace, but for some reason, I know that I’ll be
back for more. |
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getting there Barbie Shanghai, 550 Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Maoming Nan Lu
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reg8w
28 December, 2009
Probably for the same reason most restaurants serve alcohol all day. It's purely financial gain. Barbie depends on having a life long market. If 21+ Barbie fans enjoy a Barbie-ini at lunch, so be it. Alcohol has a remarkably high profit margin. Beyond that, is the B-bar even open to children? I seriously doubt it.
Allowing adults to drink adult beverages in an adult only venue is not improper.
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reg8w
28 December, 2009
Probably for the same reason most restaurants serve alcohol all day. It's purely financial gain. Barbie depends on having a life long market. If 21+ Barbie fans enjoy a Barbie-ini at lunch, so be it. Alcohol has a remarkably high profit margin. Beyond that, is the B-bar even open to children? I seriously doubt it.
Allowing adults to drink adult beverages in an adult only venue is not improper.
MJZemer
18 December, 2009
At a time when 75 percent of Australian teens between ages 14 and 17 consume alcohol at dangerous levels, when the average young person begins drinking at age 13 in the U.S., and when underage drinkers are estimated to make up 20% of the U.S. alcohol sales market, why is Barbie celebrating the consumption of liquor with her own B-Branded cocktails?
And why is her pickup bar now open during the day? In March of this year, food and beverage manager Hayes Zhou explained that the B-bar was supposed to be a late night spot where wanna-be Barbie’s could connect with boy-toy Kens (see the telegraph article here: http://tiny.cc/Jk9MS). Now Barbie's pickup bar is open while young children are in the store.
Mary Jayne Zemer
Director, Serious Play for Serious Girls
http://www.seriousplayforseriousgirls.com/?p=144
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