Sindy is a British

fashion doll Fashion dolls are dolls primarily designed to be dressed to reflect fashion trends. They are manufactured both as toys for children to play with and as collectibles for adults. The dolls are usually modeled after teen girls or adult women, though ...

created by Pedigree Dolls & Toys in 1963. A rival to

Barbie Barbie is a fashion doll created by American businesswoman Ruth Handler, manufactured by American toy and entertainment company Mattel and introduced on March 9, 1959. The toy was based on the German Bild Lilli doll, Bild Lilli doll which Hand ...

, Sindy's look and range of fashions and accessories made her the best-selling

toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...

in the United Kingdom in 1968 and 1970. After Marx Toys' unsuccessful attempt to introduce Sindy in the United States in the late 1970s,

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

bought the rights to Sindy and remodelled the doll to look more American. As a result, the doll's popularity declined; in addition, Barbie manufacturer

Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company headquartered in El Segundo, California. Founded in Los Angeles by Harold Matson and the husband-and-wife duo of Ruth Handler, ...

filed a

lawsuit A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today ...

for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of Copyright#Scope, works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the c ...

, which was settled when Hasbro agreed to remodel Sindy's face. During the 1990s, Barbie's share of the doll market continued to grow while Sindy's diminished, which led to Sindy being delisted from major retailers in 1997. Hasbro returned the doll's licence to Pedigree, and the doll was relaunched in 1999, manufactured by

Vivid Imaginations Vivid Imaginations is a British toy manufacturer, distributor and wholesale company, based in Guildford, Surrey. Founded in 1992, one of the company's first toy lines it manufactured was Captain Scarlet, which has since been followed by Thunde ...

. Sindy's 40th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded. Most countries celebrate national anniversaries, typically called national days. These could be the List of national independence days, date of independen ...

in 2003 saw a new manufacturer, New Moons, and another relaunch and redesign. There were further relaunches in 2016 by Tesco and in 2021 by Kid Kreations. There is a 60th anniversary Sindy doll which was launched at the end of 2023 to celebrate 60 years of Sindy.

Development and launch

After 20 years of producing dolls, Pedigree Dolls & Toys, a British company in

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, sought to expand its product range to include a trendy

. American toy manufacturer

offered Pedigree a licence to produce

, which Pedigree declined due to

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers. It involves understanding who they are and what they need. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining com ...

showing Barbie was unpopular with British buyers. Instead Pedigree manufactured its own doll based on another American doll, Tammy. With permission from Tammy's manufacturer, the

Ideal Toy Company Ideal Toy Company was an American toy company founded by Morris Michtom and his wife, Rose. During the post–World War II baby boom era, Ideal became the largest doll-making company in the United States. Their most popular dolls included Betsy ...

, Pedigree also borrowed Tammy's

slogan A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan or a political, commercial, religious, or other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the public or a more defined target group ...

, "The doll you love to dress". The name "Sindy" was chosen after a street

poll Poll, polled, or polling may refer to: Forms of voting and counting * Poll, a formal election ** Election verification exit poll, a survey taken to verify election counts ** Polling, voting to make decisions or determine opinions ** Polling pla ...

where young girls were shown a photo of the doll and asked to choose their favourite name from a list of four. The most popular choice was "Cindy", and the spelling was made more distinctive for

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

ing. The Sindy doll was launched in September 1963, and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

retailers were sent a promotional 45rpm

gramophone record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...

to introduce the doll, which included Pedigree's

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

text below.

Sindy is the free, swinging girl that every little girl longs to be. Sindy has sports clothes, glamour clothes, everyday clothes — a dog, skates, a gramophone — everything... Every genuine Sindy outfit is a child's dream come true. Each one is designed for today's fashionable young women by today's leading women designers. They are authentic miniature replicas of the latest adult clothes.

Brand and doll evolution

Developing accessories and American release

Pedigree Toys' market research was correct – Sindy's "

girl next door The girl next door is a young female stock character who is often used in Romance novel, romantic stories. She is named so because she often lives next door to the protagonist or is a childhood friend. They start out with a friendship that late ...

" look made her more popular than Barbie in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

. Sindy's boyfriend Paul was released in 1965, and her younger sister Patch in 1966. Sindy's friends Vicki and Mitzi, and Patch's friends Poppet and Betsy debuted in 1968. Sindy was the best selling toy in Britain in 1968 and 1970. Sindy's success in the 1960s was partly due to the increasing range of accessories, with up to 70% of Sindy's turnover from sales of accessories.

did not greatly expand Barbie's accessories until the 1980s, and this was a significant difference between the dolls. During the 1970s, Pedigree focused on developing more Sindy products and neglected

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

and

, risking Sindy's "girl next door" image becoming old-fashioned. In 1978, Sindy was introduced to the United States market by Marx Toys. Child star Susan Olsen, who played Cindy Brady on the popular family sitcom ''

The Brady Bunch ''The Brady Bunch'' is an American sitcom created by Sherwood Schwartz that aired five seasons from September 26, 1969, to March 8, 1974, on ABC. The series revolves around a large blended family of six children, with three boys and three gir ...

'', was featured in a U.S. produced commercial for the doll. Most of Sindy's accessories and fashions were similar to those sold in the United Kingdom, except for the addition of a friend, Gayle, and a

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

-themed Sindy. Marx Toys went into

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver – a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights" – especia ...

in 1980 and Sindy was withdrawn from the US market.

Focus on relaunches, fashion and advertising

During the 1980s, Pedigree's new marketing director David Brown made several changes, including increasing advertising and market research, and consulting often with fashion experts to ensure the doll's image was kept up to date. Pedigree produced a number of evening dresses designed by The Emmanuels, famous for designing

Princess Diana Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997), was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

's wedding gown, shortly after

released gowns for Barbie designed by Oscar de la Renta. Due to its success, a second collection of designs was released the next year, including a bubble dress and

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fashio ...

. An older-looking Sindy doll was released in 1985, with male and female companions Mark and Marie. The advertising campaign was worth £1.5 million. In 1986, Sindy manufacturers took advantage of new colour-changing technology and released Magic Moments Sindy, a doll whose hair and swimming costume changed colour when immersed in warm water. Sindy's senior designer Jane Braithwaite travelled to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

each month to research fashion trends for Sindy's clothing in an attempt to reverse declining sales. As an example of Sindy's continually updated fashions, during this period the doll's footwear included kitten heels,

sandals Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a Sole (shoe), sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear ...

, knee-high boots, ankle boots,

trainers Sneakers ( US) or trainers ( UK), also known by a wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual wear. They were popularized by compani ...

, slippers,

court shoe A court shoe (British English) or pump (List of words having different meanings in American and British English: M–Z#P, American English) is a shoe with a low-cut front, or Shoe#vamp, vamp, with either a shoe buckle or a black Ribbon, bow as o ...

s and slingbacks. In 1987, Sindy's product manager Edward Machin announced that Sindy would reclaim the lead over Barbie within two years. Hasbro redesigned Sindy and spent approximately £1.5 m on advertising. A Sindy

magazine A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

was also launched in this period to challenge the

fortnight A fortnight is a unit of time equal to 14 days (two weeks). The word derives from the Old English term , meaning "" (or "fourteen days", since the Anglo-Saxons counted by nights). Astronomy and tides In astronomy, a ''lunar fortnight'' is hal ...

ly Barbie magazine. A £1 million advertising campaign was introduced in 1991 with five advertisements highlighting Sindy's collection of beach and pool wear. The advertisement showed footage of Sindy combined with live action sequences from a look-alike. In 1993, Sindy was featured in a £500,000 advertising campaign for the fashion company Alexon Group. Sindy was used to contrast her childish fashion with the sophistication of Alexon's fashion range. Each double page spread showed Sindy in a typical outfit superimposed on a real-life setting. The opposite page showed a real woman dressed in Alexon's clothes above the line 'Dressing up for grown ups'.

Brand decline and lawsuits

Hasbro introduced Sindy in France and continental Europe in 1994 after minor facial modifications to reduce her resemblance to Barbie. A Neilsen study suggested Sindy could obtain 20% of the ₣500–600 m market in France alone. The chief executive of Hasbro France, Paul Audouy, said recent innovations such as the ability for Sindy to swim and walk a small dog would strengthen her market position. Hasbro invested ₣5 million in the first week of her advertising launch. A new

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

friend for Sindy was released in 1995, named Imani, 30 years after Sindy's American friend Gayle was withdrawn after low sales. Hasbro released the new doll in response to "overwhelming demand". Hasbro withdrew its £5.5 m advertising support for the Sindy doll in 1997 amid rumours that major

retailers Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler ...

were planning to delist the doll. The editor of ''UK Toy News'', Jon Salisbury, said, "This is Hasbro taking Sindy out of its main range. But she is running so far behind Barbie it is almost a non-issue. If delisted by bigger retailers, which seems to be happening, then the brand will lose momentum". In 1994, Sindy had a seven percent share of the £70 m doll market, and Barbie held 16%. By 1996, Barbie's share had increased to 30%, estimated by Mattel to be worth £100 m per year including licensing deals, and Sindy's share had only climbed to eight percent. Sindy's popularity had also been overtaken during that period by

Polly Pocket Polly Pocket is a toy line of inch-tall dolls and accessories sold by Mattel. The line was founded and designed by Chris Wiggs in 1983 and was first sold to the public in 1989. Between 2012 and 2018, it was not sold in the US in 2012 and decli ...

. One explanation for the large variation in market share is the unpopular

Americanisation Americanization or Americanisation (see spelling differences) is the influence of the American culture and economy on other countries outside the United States, including their media, cuisine, business practices, popular culture, technology ...

of the Sindy doll in the mid-1980s. The Sindy doll was still available to retailers during this period, but had to be ordered in bulk from the

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

manufacturer.

Return to Pedigree Toys and further doll makeovers

Sindy and Barbie went head-to-head in August 1999, when both manufacturers created large advertising campaigns for the dolls and Sindy was relaunched. The manufacturers updated the dolls' images and revamped them with a "millennium look". Sindy was transformed into a younger-looking doll with "new themes, new friends and a new family, fitting today's environment and in tune with the street-cred concerns of today's young girls", according to

' marketing director, Paul Weston, from the company then producing Sindy. Pedigree, which owns the rights to Sindy, licensed the doll to Vivid Imaginations after Hasbro ceased production of the doll. The doll market in the United Kingdom during this time was worth £77 million, with Barbie holding a share of over 75%. The Sindy doll entered the digital world in 2000 when Pedigree Toys introduced an official

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

. Monitor Media, the

website design Web design encompasses many different skills and disciplines in the production and maintenance of websites. The different areas of web design include web graphic design; user interface design (UI design); authoring, including standardised code an ...

company, said, "Sindy.com brings Sindy to life for six-year-old girls just getting to grips with computers while sitting on their Mum's knee. They can dress her up, paint her bedroom in different colours, read her secret diary, chat with other Sindy fans and send her e-mails". In 40 years, nearly 100 million Sindy dolls were sold in Britain alone, and in 2003, Sindy was relaunched for her 40th birthday. Her figure was changed to more closely resemble the girls the doll is marketed towards. Denise Deane, the head of design and development at New Moons, the new Sindy manufacturer, said, "She's lost the big breasts and very long legs, and we've completely changed her face. She's totally unrecognisable. Sindy's still very popular, but she has been neglected over the last few years, and we don't think people are identifying with that look. She's going to look like a 15-year-old, and we've designed her to wear trainers." The doll was released in two versions: six-inch and full-size. Sindy was relaunched again in 2006, this time resembling a 12- to 14-year-old. Jerry Reynolds,

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of Pedigree Toys explained, "If you take the Sindy of yester-year she was between 12 and 14 years while Barbie was twenty-something. She got too close to Barbie in the '80s and '90s and has now effectively returned to that younger positioning." The doll was again released in two sizes, with the standard-size Sindy a Woolworths exclusive. The 2006 Sindy was aimed at three- to five-year-old girls, younger than the audience targeted by Bratz dolls, and mothers who wanted a more innocent-looking doll for their daughters than Barbie or Bratz dolls. Tonner Doll Company released a collection of high end dolls in 2013, the first one made for the 2013 Sindy Convention in the U.K. Tesco in 2016 released a new 18-inch Sindy doll alongside new friends, various outfits and accessories. Kid Kreations released a playline in 2021 based on the classic Sindy face mould. There were announcements of a further relaunch in 2023 after the release of the ''Barbie'' film.

Controversies and lawsuits

The January 1989 redesign made Sindy look more like her rival

. In response,

sought and won an

injunction An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a special court order compelling a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. It was developed by the English courts of equity but its origins go back to Roman law and the equitable rem ...

against

after claiming the new Sindy doll was easily confused with their product. After a French court decided that the Sindy doll infringed on Mattel's

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

in early 1992, the case was settled in December when Hasbro agreed to alter Sindy's face. Mattel and Hasbro released the following joint statement, "Hasbro has remodeled the head of Sindy in a way which Mattel and Hasbro have agreed is acceptable. As a result, Mattel has agreed to drop all outstanding lawsuits relating to Sindy and Barbie around the world. Each party will be responsible for its own costs". The case was previously ruled in Hasbro's favour in Spain and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Similar to many

s, including

, Sindy has been criticised by

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

groups who said her figure set an unrealistic standard for young girls. After Hasbro returned the brand to Pedigree Toys, Pedigree responded to the backlash against "cosmetically enhanced bimbo" dolls by making Sindy more wholesome and less shapely. A minor controversy occurred in 1998 when Hasbro expressed a desire to make a Sindy doll that looked like

, shortly after former

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British retired politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997. Following his defeat to Ton ...

recommended sensitivity when making commercial deals to honour the late princess. The Princess' Memorial Fund denied Hasbro's request, but did not rule out the possibility of a future doll, "if it met the requirements of the trustees and was judged acceptable to the public".

Collecting

The Sindy doll is popular among

collectors Collector(s) may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Collector (2011 film), ''Collector'' (2011 film), an Indian Malayalam film * Collector (2016 film), ''Collector'' (2016 film), a Russian film * Collectors (film), ''Collectors'' (film), a 2020 So ...

, and websites provide advice on how to re-root the doll's hair and replace parts.

Mint condition Mint Condition is an American R&B band from St. Paul, Minnesota. The band is focused on diverse genres such as jazz, hip hop, funk and dance. Mint Condition has also been nominated for one Grammy and three Soul Train Awards. The group is cr ...

dolls are the most sought after. Many collectors shunned the "American look" Sindy developed by Hasbro, while the value of the Pedigree dolls increased. In 2003, a first-edition Sindy, complete with original Foale and Tuffin "Weekenders" outfit (jeans and a striped sweatshirt), box and fashion booklet was worth approximately £160–200. Sindy's rarer friends Gayle (a doll made for the American market in 1975) was worth up to £400, and Mitzi (her French friend from 1968) up to £500. December 2006 saw the launch of a collectible version of the original Sindy, one called "Classic Sindy" and manufactured in

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

. Created by Anne Zielinski-Old, distributed by the Danbury Mint and still licensed by Pedigree Dolls & Toys, the "Weekender" was the first in a series. With Sindy doll's 50th birthday approaching in 2013, Pedigree toys was designing a new range of merchandise. This would include laptop covers, notepaper, mobile phone cases, gift tags, shoes and accessories aimed at teenagers. A new doll was reported to be in the design stages. In September 2020 a collector’s line of six Sindy dolls was introduced by the Sindy Collectors Club. Inspired by the original Pedigree dolls, each of the six dolls wears a modern interpretation of the fashions of original Sindy doll releases from 1963: Shopping Look, Weekender, City Chic, Dream Date, Skater Girl, and Sleepy Time. Each of the six versions is limited to 1,963 dolls. The dolls are manufactured by Kid Kreations of Staffordshire, England. In September 2023, coinciding with Sindy doll's 60th birthday, a new collector's doll was announced, again limited to 1,963 dolls. This doll will be released in Spring 2024.

In popular culture

Beginning in 1963, Sindy was featured as a weekly

comic strip A comic strip is a Comics, sequence of cartoons, arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often Serial (literature), serialized, with text in Speech balloon, balloons and Glossary of comics terminology#Captio ...

— ''Sindy and Her Friends'' — first in

Fleetway Publications Fleetway Publications was a magazine publishing company based in London. History It was founded in 1959 when the Mirror Group acquired the Amalgamated Press, then based at Fleetway House, Farringdon Street, London. It was one of the companies ...

' ''

School Friend ''School Friend'' was the name of two different British weekly publications marketed toward girls, both of which were pioneering in their respective categories. Although both published by Amalgamated Press and both marketed toward girls, the cont ...

'' (c. 1963–1964, drawn by Cecil Graveney), and then in '' June and School Friend'' (from 1965, drawn by Phil Townsend).

References

External links

Official website2003 Sindy Exhibition in SudburyOur Sindy Museum's reference website
{{dolls 1960s toys Mascots introduced in 1963 Merchandise and advertising characters introduced in 1963 Playscale figures Fashion dolls Lines Bros Doll brands Toy mascots Female characters in advertising