Kmart Makes Mass Market Multicultural Doll Push

Long an also ran in the conversation of discount retailers, Kmart seems to have beaten its two chief rivals, Wal-Mart and Target to the proverbial punch by moving to mass market availability of what can only be called diversity product offerings. In Dora the Explorer, American kids are introduced to a bilingual little girl whose friends are as diverse as the show's audience.

Once a bastion for pale strides in diversity, toy makers are using diversity to build new brand loyalty as African-American and Hispanic kids become large consumers of toys and dolls. In the past, dolls that were non-white were simply white dolls with darker skin and tinted hair. That is not the case anymore. Details and features are becoming dominant themes. At Mattel, whose American Girl division is filled with dolls from Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American, and Native American backgrounds, bringing diversity in retail offerings is in no small measure a result of the continual growth of the market space that is the multiethnic consumer.

With the population demographic changes the US has experienced over the last twenty-five years and those changes, changing even more over the next quarter century, the need for retailers to make available to consumers, dolls and toys that reflections of themselves will grow in popularity. In recent census statistics, one in three persons that live in the US is a minority. Additionally, one in ten counties has a minority people group as its largest citizen group. By 2011, minority spending will account for just under two trillion dollars. By 2050, minorities will account for half of America's population.

Those facts are not loss on the people over at Kmart. Their recent decision to roll out almost four dozen different types of minority dolls is an indication that they understand the cultural needs in society today. They get it so much that in addition to pushing the toys to each of their 1,400 stores, their new advertising campaign will include major emphasis on toys geared towards African-American, Hispanic and Asian Americans. Whereas other discount stores are making multicultural an emphasis in existing diverse communities, Kmart has made the decision to mass market the lines of dolls universally.

Long number three behind Wal-Mart and Target in retail sales as a whole, Kmart trails Wal-Mart and Toys'R Us in toy sales. In its two toy competitors, Kmart faces a difficult battle convincing shoppers to bypass those two who already have multicultural lines with Barbie and Bratz. But with Kmart releasing Baby Abuelita and Rebelde and a new line from the Just Girlz collection, they will have a much larger collection and assortment of dolls than either of their competitors.

Wal-Mart has over seventy different ethnic dolls in its catalog. However, it only sales at a few at each store based on the demographics of shoppers at a particular store. The same holds true for Toys'R Us, whose one hundred different ethnic dolls. Both Wal-Mart and ToysR'Us have both increased the number of Hispanic dolls exponentially. The same can be said for African-Americans, but to smaller increases.

While having the dolls on the aisles is a huge statement made by Kmart, reality says if you cannot offer a kid something more than just a doll the hurdles will remain. With Dora the Explorer, kids can buy sleeper sets, roller skates, table and chairs among other things. If all a child can buy is a doll the chances of them purchasing it decrease dramatically. Kmart understands that. As does established players, Wal-Mart and ToysR'Us. In a market space filled with characters, Kmart may live or die based on consumers habit of buying based on brand recognition or social association.

If Wal-Mart and ToysR'Us continue to progress it will be because every major brand is already on its aisle. If Kmart does well it will be because kids have chosen to buy their toys based on the inclination of purchasing based on relevant social relationships. A kid wants Dora the Explorer because they watch Dora everyday, seven days a week. Parents may buy Rebelde because they wish to reinforce the identity of their child through a minor purchasing decision.