For most of 2018, Madame Alexander Doll Company was dark. Their social media accounts were left untouched. They were no-shows at one of the biggest toy events of the year, New York Toy Fair. And besides stock that ended up at discount stores like Tuesday Morning, the releases were few and far between. For most of the year, there was speculation that the company was sold to a new buyer, but online searches revealed nothing. I was worried that we were going to lose this iconic doll maker, but thankfully, it looks like that isn’t the case.
Madame Alexander Bride
Back in October of 2018, after months of nothing on their various outlets, the Madame Alexander Doll Company re-emerged and has been posting regularly on social media ever since. The website also got a bit of an update, as well. According to an article posted to ToyBook, the company is now, in fact, under new management. The new owners and their partners are looking to “improve marketing, customer service, production, and fulfillment capacity while expanding its 2019 product catalog.”
Madame Alexander Victoria
They’ve hired a pr/branding company to help move the company forward as their 100th anniversary (2023) is quickly approaching, with a “new digital campaign focused on activating the next generation of moms through social media, digital influencers, content marketing, and PR programs.”
Madame Alexander Travel Friends
According to VP Tom Neville, 2019 will bring us “Newborn Nursery dolls in more ethnicities, meaningful updates to the classic Huggums line, some great collectibles, new play dolls, and much more!” He goes on to say that there will be a “much wider variety of multicultural dolls to the line in 2019… to allow kids to have dolls that reflect themselves and the world around them.”
Neville also mentions that they haven’t forgotten about the classics and will be “offering the classic Wendy and Huggums dolls and reintroducing a number of other classic dolls. We love and value the collector community!” Neville says the new owners aim to “get back to the values of the family-led business and Madame Alexander’s original vision.” Reading statements like this make me think this change may be a positive one for the company, as the previous owners never really ‘got’ the brand and it’s ideals, in my opinion. I can’t wait to see what the new owners have up their sleeves!
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What do you think of the (slightly cryptic?) sale of Madame Alexander Doll Company? What would you like to see the new owners change? What staples do you want them to keep? Let us know in the comment area!