Jakks Pacific has partnered with Authentic Brands Group to manufacture and distribute a new line of fashion dolls that are tied into the female athletic brand Roxy. 

Designed for kids ages four and up, the LA-based toyco’s 7.5-inch articulated Roxy Dolls are set to launch exclusively at Target in June. Four lead SKUs will each be built around a specific Roxy-sponsored sport, with surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding and rollerblading kicking the range off. And the dolls’ unique outfits and accessories will be pulled directly from Roxy’s real-life product catalogue.

Debbie Haag, Jakks’ SVP of marketing for girls and preschool, says the company wanted to carve out a niche for itself in the US$1-billion doll market by focusing on health and sports, rather than the more traditional tropes of high fashion and fantasy play that this product category is already oversaturated with. 

“When we presented the initial concept of the dolls to leadership, they said it wasn’t enough,” says Haag. “We needed to go get a license to make the products stand out. That led us to talking to ABG and licensing Roxy, [which we liked] because it’s a legacy lifestyle brand that has a cool outdoor vibe, and it already produces amazing clothes that kids want to dress up in.” 

Roxy first hit the market in 1990 as a sister brand to Quiksilver, with a heavy focus on action sports apparel for women. It’s still going strong after more than 30 years, and ABG acquired the assets in 2023 as part of its US$1.25-billion acquisition of rights holder Boardriders.

Now armed with a compelling license to play with, Jakks’ next step was to conduct a mix of focus group tests and quantitative surveys to nail down which sports to feature in its first Roxy Dolls assortment. “The girls immediately loved the look and play of the dolls because of the added articulation,” explains Haag. “But what was even more interesting was that the moms immediately recognized the brand and became infatuated with the dolls as well, proving to us that we have something with multigenerational appeal here.” 

Jakks will support the launch with a year-round digital marketing campaign designed to leverage Roxy’s platform and influencers, Target’s digital channels and the toyco’s own social network to create hype and demand with its core audience of young girls and nostalgic moms. Haag notes that more dolls are slated for release later in the year to expand the brand with new characters that reflect a wider range of sports.