2013 started off with some impressive sales, including record prices for a mansion and a Ferrari. One famous baby even got a diamond-encrusted Barbie doll for her first birthday -- and you won't believe what it cost her parents.
U.S. companies see China as a market of near limitless potential, but plenty of big names have learned the hard way that the American way doesn't always sell in Shanghai. From Mattel to Home Depot, here are some notable attempts that got lost in translation.
In his new book, Imagine: How Creativity Works, Jonah Lehrer writes about how Barbie was actually the result of a cultural misunderstanding -- an innocent mix-up that became a huge moneymaker for Mattel.
With The Hunger Games opening this weekend, investors can stack the odds in their favor by considering the companies that stand to benefit from the film's likely success.
MGA Entertainment, the maker of Bratz dolls has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Mattel, which makes rival Barbie dolls.
Video-game publisher THQ, who makes the popular uDraw tablet and fighting game UFC, has signed a deal with Mattel to bring Barbie, Hot Wheels and other brands to gaming consoles. Can it help give the gaming company -- whose stock has soared 47% in less than two months -- increase its revenue?
The iPhone beat Barbie this holiday season, according to eBay's latest "Top Shopped" report, selling 1,634,674 units versus 1,178,90 Barbies.
MGA Entertainment, maker of the popular and controversial line of Bratz dolls, threw another punch in its extended copyright brawl with Barbie maker Mattel this week. MGA alleges that Mattel has for years been falsifying credentials to spy on competitors at toy fairs around the world.
Toymaker Mattel said that its profit for the second quarter more than doubled from a year ago, helped by solid performance across its "portfolio of brands and countries, particularly Barbie and Hot Wheels."
