American Girl: Rise Of A Toy Classic

A kids' birthday party at New York City's American Girl Place costs $30 a head. Ditto for a ticket to the doll retailer's in-store musicals. Twenty smackers will cover a new hairdo for your doll at the store's salon. But if you want to buy a doll, you'll have to shell out four times that. Despite such hefty prices, the three-story doll emporium that opened in midtown Manhattan last month is mobbed. So too is Chicago's five-year-old American Girl Place, which ranks as the Magnificent Mile's top-grossing store. Many of its visitors have no doubt come planning only to browse but...

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