At the Women in Retail Leadership Summit earlier this year, Alexis Hoopes, vice president of e-commerce at Mattel, chatted with Rebecca Pallister, an enterprise success manager at Shopify, about how Mattel Creations, a platform that showcases and sells exclusive, limited-edition toys and collectibles, became the fifth-largest brand at Mattel under her leadership.

In the video above, Hoopes and Pallister discuss the partnership between Mattel and Shopify that began in 2019 and has been the catalyst for driving this exponential growth.

“Like in the ‘Barbie’ movie, you need friends to navigate, and Shopify has been a great partner,” Hoopes said, adding that partnering with Shopify enabled Mattel Creations to set up its website in just six months, in time for the 2023 San Diego Comic-Con, where it was planning a big presence. In addition, Hoopes discussed how Shopify helped Mattel create a drop-shipping feature that enabled it to offer more products and thereby capitalize on the massive demand it was seeing because of the success of the “Barbie” movie.

Hoopes also detailed why community building is so important for Mattel Creations. “We connect with fans through forums, in-person events, and livestreams, creating a strong sense of belonging and connection,” she said. “A recent highlight was a livestreamed event with over 100,000 viewers engaging with our designers and brand.”

Lastly, Hoopes explained that Mattel Creations and Shopify have achieved so much in three years, “from building one of Mattel’s largest brands to innovating and transforming our business model.” She noted the biggest accomplishment, however, “is how we’ve evolved from a traditional wholesaler to a modern direct-to-consumer business, thanks in large part to our partners like Shopify.”