Girl toys: licensing and the girls' market.

Once upon a time, girls were well represented in the product lines that emanated from the licensing industry. Successful properties like the Care Bears, Strawberry Short-cake and Rainbow Brite competed for the attention of little girls and translated well into toy lines and a wide range of other licensed products.

However, in the early '80s this activity began to taper off. "As far as licensing goes lately, in the '80s and the first half of the '90s, it has been skewed toward boys. And the girls' properties that were introduced weren't successful," pointed out Karen Raugust, executive editor of New York-based publication The Licensing Letter. Jenny Gentile, director of Licensing for Abrams/Gentile Entertainment, feels that the licensing industry has focused on boys' lines like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and that "unfortunately the result of that was girls being neglected."

The U.S. toy market currently stands at $16 billion. Retail sales of licensed toys and games in North America reached $5.3 billion in 1995. With figures like these, it was only a matter of time before licensors and licensees made an effort to reach the female half of the youth population. The last two years have seen a resurgence in licensed properties directed at girls. Bohbot Entertainment unveiled Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders, an animated fantasy series with an accompanying toy line by Hasbro, at last year's Licensing Show. Raugust observed that "Princess Gwenevere has a lot of licensees signed, but it's too early to tell if it's doing well." Tenko and the Guardians of Magic, a live-action/animated series from Saban with an attendant toy line from Mattel, also debuted last year, although Raugust feels the property has not been doing well. In 1995 DIC Entertainment developed an extensive licensing program with more than 200 products - including a toy line from Bandai America - for its animated series Sailor Moon. The property is based on a Japanese comic book character and pledges itself to themes of female empowerment. In Japan, where the series was introduced several years before its U.S. version, Sailor Moon licensed products have generated $1.58 billion more in retail sales than the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles combined.

Undoubtedly the most successful new girls' property is Abrams/Gentile's Sky Dancers, the 1995 Toy of the Year, which saw $150 million in sales its first year on the market. Lewis Galoob Toys produces the flying doll, and more than 25 other licensees have expanded the line with clothing, board games, books and the like. According to Jenny Gentile, Sky Dancers really caught the eye of licensees because there was little else out there for girls. And hopes for the doll's continued expansion into other countries are high. As Gentile put it, "flight needs no interpretation."

The next phase for Sky Dancers will be the debut of the animated series itself this September. Co-producers Abrams/Gentile and Gaumont Multimedia and U.S. syndicator Active Entertainment hope the show will appeal to girls to the same extent that the toy has. According to Gentile, the goal was to give girls a blockbuster like boys had blockbusters. Gentile spoke of the timeliness of the property's introduction, and said "I do feel that [the girls' market] has been untapped because everyone's focused on boys."

In an unusual reversal of the standard course of events, this girls' line has given birth to a spin-off property directed at boys. Dragon Flyz, the toy, premiered at the 1996 Toy Fair next to an expanded Sky Dancers line; the first action figures shipped at the beginning of May. Dragon Flyz, the animated series, will debut simultaneously with Sky Dancers. The boys' property was developed in response to feedback from parents who reported that their sons were attracted to their daughters' toys, said Gentile. But she is happy with the order in which things happened, and wouldn't have wanted to start with the boys' products: "We felt very strongly about developing this for girls."

Why has this renewal of interest in the female market happened so abruptly? Why the crop of new girls properties? Said Raugust: "One of the reasons you saw that happening was the Power Rangers. A lot of girls were watching the show, and buying the toys? The show's audience is 35 percent female. Raugust said that girls' viewership of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles also sparked licensees' interest. Once the idea was planted that here was an untapped market, there was a snowball effect. "A lot of these shows were pitched at once," said Raugust.

There are several difficulties unique to the girls' market that may have played a part in the lack of new female-oriented properties over the last 10 to 15 years. One is the presence of the venerable licensing powerhouse Barbie. Gentile feels that Barbie intimidates those who might want to get into girls' licensing. This opinion is seconded by Gary Caplan, a Studio City, California-based marketing consultant who specializes in licensed consumer products for children. "Barbie corners the market in girls' properties," said Caplan. "Barbie is the queen."

Beverly Cannady of Beverly Cannady Licensing, another consultant, pointed out a second problem in girls' licensing: "TV producers and buyers of TV shows say boys control the dial." There is a feeling in the industry that while girls will watch boys' shows, boys won't watch girls' shows, and thus introducing a girls' property is a risk. In addition, Cannady pointed out that although a crossover show may appeal to girls as well as boys, the toys themselves are geared to male children. According to Raugust, the success of a line depends on a close fit between the entertainment property and the licensing elements. "The girls' shows have been on this model: action adventures with girl heroes," she said. "But with girls, hair play is successful. Girls like to watch action, but they like to buy the jewelry." Perhaps the early success of Sky Dancers, which is essentially an action figure for girls, is due to its ability to straddle this gap.

But it is too early to tell whether the companion show for the Sky Dancers toy line will be a comparable hit. It also remains to be seen whether this new crop of girls' products will succeed, making an impression on the licensing industry and perhaps fostering a second generation of Strawberry Shortcakes. But it's nice to know that the girls' market, with all its potential, is beginning to get some attention.