Doll Wars: It's Barbie vs. Liv vs. Moxie

Dec. 3, 2009 — -- The Barbie display inside the big Toys "R" Us store in New York City features a two-story House of Barbie with dolls in every imaginable outfit: Barbie Beach doll, Barbie Ballerina, Bride Barbie and the latest line, Barbie Fashionista.

Put them all together and she is the multibillion-dollar Barbie, the 11-and-a-half-inch-tall cash queen of dolls.

"[Girls] love anything that sparks their imagination," said Richard Dickson, general manager of Barbie Worldwide. "What are they going to be like when they grow up? They can live that fantasy in a very safe way through Barbie. Barbie allows girls to dream of a world of possibilities, from becoming a dentist to a doctor to a movie star to a rock star or a mom."

What might be difficult for them to imagine, though, is what it would be like to actually be in the business of designing, manufacturing and selling dolls to girls like themselves, 3 to 10 years old. Because people in the doll business aren't playing around.

El Segundo, Calif., hosts an enormous Barbie design center. In one cubicle after another, everyone works on something that's Barbie-related. "It could be a doll," said Stephanie Cota of Mattel. "It could be an accessory. It could be, you know, just her shoes. It could be just her hair. We can spend hours and hours focusing in on a belt, a necklace, a pair of glasses. All of that is really critical because at the end of the day, little girls notice every detail."

Since its introduction 50 years ago, the Mattel Corporation's Barbie doll has dominated what is now a $3 billion-a-year doll business. But with so much money to be made, some new entries have hit the scene.