Barbie in Shanghai: Finally available in the land of her birth

On Monday, The Washington Post reported on the opening of the flagship Barbie store in Shanghai, China. Targeted at adults as well as children, the six-story, 35,000 square foot store includes a spa and gourmet restaurant, and sells high-end chocolates and women's clothing.

One irony lies in the fact that many of the new Barbie store's target customers may well have had a hand in making the popular dolls. Mattel has two factories in China: located in Dongguan and Nanhai, the manufacturing centers employ 11,000 workers and produce most of the 100 million Barbies that Mattel sells every year.