In an interview with Fortune.com, Diane Nelson, president of DC Entertainment, president of Warner Bros. Consumer Products, and president and chief content officer of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, thinks the “DC Super Hero Girls” initiative could be a billion-dollar brand for the company, with young girls snapping up the new line of merchandise.
“If you walk down the aisle of girls toys in a store, everything’s pink. Girls love pink, but we wanted the color palette to be consistent with superheroes in our DC universe. So we have golds, greens, and reds that really pop on aisles that are full of pink. The characters wear practical uniforms instead of swimsuits and high heels. We have 12-inch action dolls and 6-inch action figures, which is the first time action figures have been made for girls. There’s a great Wonder Woman shield, capes that appeal to younger girls, and novels that appeal to older girls.”
As for the diversity of characters being used in the animated shorts, TV special and line of clothing, dolls and action figures, Nelson says:
“In some of our comic books, Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn are villains, but in high school, the characters are discovering their strengths and weaknesses while sitting alongside Wonder Woman and Supergirl. If you look at Batman and Superman, there are adaptations that appeal to six year olds, as well as 40 year-olds. I hope that young girls get the things I hear about from every fanboy – an incredible sense of empowerment and aspiration. It’s about getting hope and inspiration from powerful role models. It’s about saving the day, alongside men.”
With the official rollout of the merchandise hitting shelves in July, Nelson expects the DC Super Hero Girls line to be big business for DC Entertainment…
“We’ve tested the apparel, Wonder Woman’s role-playing shield and bracelets in Target stores since April. It’s selling like gangbusters, and we can’t keep it on the shelves. All of our retailers are excited about getting their hands on the products. We have 30 product categories out now, and will have 70 product categories in more than 35 markets globally after the rollout in July.Our overall consumer products represent a $6 billion business. The DC brand brings in about half of that. We think the DC Super Hero Girls can be bigger than a $1 billion brand.”
