American Girl Concerns

To whom it may concern:

We the undersigned have several concerns with the direction American Girl has taken since being bought from Pleasant T. Rowland by Mattel, and we would like to voice these concerns.

Should an item be retired, we would appreciate if notice was given beforehand. Too many times have we come upon an item we had wanted and we see a note saying currently sold out, which implies otherwise. If there was a note by the item where it appeared on the internet simply saying it would soon be retired, we would be able to buy it before all stock of that item was gone if we so chose.

Another concern of ours is the catalogue. Upon viewing the covers of the American Girl catalogue in chronological order, beginning with the first one mailed out in 1986, there is an obvious decline not only in aesthetic appeal, but quality also. The first catalogues were beautiful, and resembled paintings. There were not only dolls on the cover, but books also. Current catalogues are much less appealing and portrait-like. We would like to see the catalogue covers return to their original beauty.

In addition, less emphasis has been placed on the historical value of the dolls and their books, and more on the products themselves. Originally, the books were as important as the dolls and accessories, and were meant to be a way that girls could learn about the past and enjoy themselves, and also to inspire them. Now, attention is focused primarily on the actual dolls and their collections. We would very much like to see the spotlight shifted once again to focus on the history and stories of the dolls, as well as the dolls themselves.

On a positive note, we would like to state that overall we think highly of the company. The products are of wonderful quality, and we appreciate the ideals that are presented and promoted, such as friendship, kindness, and helping others.

We appreciate you hearing the concerns we have addressed, and would ask you to carefully consider them. Thank you for your time and attention.