Madame Alexander Makes Grand Return in 2019

For most of 2018, Madame Alexander Doll Company was dark. Their social media accounts were left untouched. They were no-shows at one of the biggest toy events of the year, New York Toy Fair. And besides stock that ended up at discount stores like Tuesday Morning, the releases were few and far between. For most of the year, there was speculation that the company was sold to a new buyer, but online searches revealed nothing. I was worried that we were going to lose this iconic doll maker, but thankfully, it looks like that isn’t the case.

Madame Alexander Bride

Back in October of 2018, after months of nothing on their various outlets, the Madame Alexander Doll Company re-emerged and has been posting regularly on social media ever since. The website also got a bit of an update, as well. According to an article posted to ToyBook, the company is now, in fact, under new management. The new owners and their partners are looking to “improve marketing, customer service, production, and fulfillment capacity while expanding its 2019 product catalog.”

Madame Alexander Victoria

They’ve hired a pr/branding company to help move the company forward as their 100th anniversary (2023) is quickly approaching, with a “new digital campaign focused on activating the next generation of moms through social media, digital influencers, content marketing, and PR programs.”

Madame Alexander Travel Friends

According to VP Tom Neville, 2019 will bring us “Newborn Nursery dolls in more ethnicities, meaningful updates to the classic Huggums line, some great collectibles, new play dolls, and much more!” He goes on to say that there will be a “much wider variety of multicultural dolls to the line in 2019… to allow kids to have dolls that reflect themselves and the world around them.”

Neville also mentions that they haven’t forgotten about the classics and will be “offering the classic Wendy and Huggums dolls and reintroducing a number of other classic dolls. We love and value the collector community!” Neville says the new owners aim to “get back to the values of the family-led business and Madame Alexander’s original vision.” Reading statements like this make me think this change may be a positive one for the company, as the previous owners never really ‘got’ the brand and it’s ideals, in my opinion. I can’t wait to see what the new owners have up their sleeves!

For instant updates on the company, make sure to follow them on social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter)!

What do you think of the (slightly cryptic?) sale of Madame Alexander Doll Company? What would you like to see the new owners change? What staples do you want them to keep? Let us know in the comment area!

January 4, 2019. Tags: . Uncategorized.

17 Comments

  1. jsornber replied:

    It looks like the hard plastic MA bride doll is a vintage one. Are they going to replicate her and others like her, or is this photo just intended to remind us what earlier MA dolls were like?

    • kewpie83 replied:

      You’re right. She’s one of my vintage girls. We’ll have a better idea of what MA will look like with this new company after Toy Fair in Feb. I would love if they did do reproductions of these, though.

  2. Anonymous replied:

    i would love for them to make repros of the classic dolls such as the Dionne quints or something similar. I like their 18 inch dolls, the lee middletons and victoria

    • kewpie83 replied:

      That would be soooo cool if they did that. Real reproductions of the one’s from the 30’s would be amazing.

  3. Honey replied:

    Please bring back the museum

  4. Lynda replied:

    Keep the Cissy dolls PLEASE at a reasonable price. Introduce a clothing line for the 16″ fashion dolls and a clothing line for the Cissy dolls.

  5. kacicalese replied:

    I love the little Madame Alexander dolls, but I also love the 18 inch dolls! They are much prettier than the American Girl Dolls, and the Journey Girls, and just about all the others I’ve seen. So I wrote the the company, because I didn’t see them represented in the 2018 catalog. They said they’re planning to bring them back in the future!!! I am so happy! I have several already, but I’ve bought, reconditioned, and re-sold several of them. They really are nice dolls! They have breastplates too, so all the tank tops, and scoop-necked fashions look better on them than the American Girl dolls too.

    • kewpie83 replied:

      Good detective work! I’m happy they’re keeping them, too!

    • Laura Park replied:

      I completely agree with you about the 18″ dolls. I bought them for my grandchildren, and they hold up much better than the American Girls dolls. Their faces were so pretty, and the way they were constructed is more durable than American Girls dolls. I certainly hope they bring them back because we’re looking for an 18″ tall for my newest little granddaughter, and I would prefer to have a Madame Alexander 18″ doll to any other brand.

  6. Looking Back at the Madame Alexander Museum | Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter replied:

    […] the website said the museum and hospital would reopen later, but that never came to be. Now under new ownership, I can only hope they consider opening another museum to showcase the almost 100 years of history […]

  7. 2019 Dolly Goals | Confessions of a Doll Collectors Daughter replied:

    […] a home for their new dolls and toys. It was also the year that we saw Madame Alexander go dark (they’re back now, thankfully) and the Tonner Doll Company slow down production and eventually close down […]

  8. Anonymous replied:

    Please call African American dolls just that instead of “dark skinned doll” which is an insult to the African American community.

  9. Kristin Johnson replied:

    I’m going on 50 years old..but just began doll collecting. I would love to see an affordable Cissy line…Cissy is my dream doll but I can’t afford the high end line or the antique collectibles. I think little girls of 2019 can appreciate her beauty and sophistication. She could give certain unnamed dolls some hot competition!!!! She is so classy.

    • kewpie83 replied:

      I don’t like all Cissy’s, but I have seen some that are very pretty! With Madame Alexander back in action, I hope they go back to some of the classics!

  10. Anonymous replied:

    I have all my Madame Alexander dolls and those of my sister’s, including clothing and accessories. I remember all the names we gave our dolls. (I’m 75 now, as of Dec. 2023.) We’re originally from Chicago; all our dolls came from Marshall Field’s.

    I have several of the “Alexanderkins” (8″ Wendy dolls), my one Cissy (18″) that I used for their mother, plus my sister’s 8″ dolls as well as her 10″ Cissette and her Lissy doll.

    I visited the Madame Alexander HQ in Harlem around 2008 when I traveled from Colorado to visit my sons who lived in NYC. On the subway there (from their apartment), I called my sister to tell her where I was going and to share my excitement with her.

    Greta was the only longtime employee (about 50 years) who was still working there at that time. I spent hours there that day talking to Greta, who gave me a private tour. She introduced me to the staff including the doll designers, package designer, seamstresses, and the fan club coordinator. I took one of my dolls (my first 8″) to see if their “doll hospital” (which Greta managed) had a replacement leg for it, but they didn’t. Greta explained to me that the company had moved all its manufacturing to China, so that part of the business was all gone.

    My very first MA doll was a Cissy, c. 1955, but I wore it out and Mom bought me a new Cissy and sewed an extensive wardrobe for it, including a bridal gown and veil, a black Persian lamb coat and hat, a teal blue party dress, and a peignoir set (nightgown & robe in cotton, white with pink flowers). Mom also bought a “diamond” ring made to fit the doll, a couple of necklaces, shoes, and a light blue brocade handbag. My Cissy came with a black & white houndstooth check skirt, a red petticoat, white blouse, black bolero jacket and black heels with red lining, and nylon stockings.

    I spent a long time in the museum where I found several like some that we have, such as the 8″ bride & groom dolls, the debutante, and more. At that time, they had a life-size bandbox made to look like the blue flowered cardboard boxes that the dolls come in. It was there for visitors to take pictures of themselves, which I did.

    My last stop was the gift shop where I bought a beautiful 8″ doll with long, straight black hair. I think she’s called the “Shopping with Grandma” doll. That was the theme. She’s dressed in a pink & blue outfit and comes with a little shopping bag with a pair of shoes that “Grandma” is supposed to have bought her.

    It was a thrill of a lifetime for me.

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