By 1983 Otto Simon wanted to internationalize. The first attempts looked promising, yet the doll would never repeat its Dutch success. The major export country was Denmark, followed by Belgium, England and Germany. Fleurs were also exported to Norway, Sweden, Austria, Australia, Greece, and France. Fleur was also seen Eastern Europe, for example in Poland, where it was sold in shops which had a licence to carry imported goods.
Fleur was originally sold in dark green boxes with flowers sprinkled over them. In 1986 the dark green of the packages became a lighter green, and the flowers got a more fresh and modern look. This was possibly an attempt to update Fleur's look and make it more eye-catching among increasing competition from other fashion dolls available at that time.
By the end of the 80s Fleur herself changed. Buhrmann Tetterode (owner of Otto Simon) decided to professionalize and outsource Fleur's design to England. The result was New Look Fleur (Disco Dance, Look Around), who was released almost simultaneously with New Face Sindy. Two ranges of designer clothes were issued.
The people from Otto Simon disapproved strongly, for this new doll and clothes had nothing to do with the Fleur they knew. But they couldn’t stop the new developments. New Fleur didn't appeal to the Dutch audience. Sales began to drop dramatically. Almost simultaneously, Buhrmann Tetterode decided to concentrate on their core business (graphic systems) and discontinued the toys line. Fleur production stopped quite suddenly in 1988.
Links:
With thanks to Marja, you can see and buy Fleurs on her website: http://home.zonnet.nl/marjab/fleur.html
Some Fleur dolls can be bought on: http://www.magictoybox-online.co.uk
One of the nicest doll sites on the net is Martha's site on many different fashion dolls and their clothes: http://www.123hjemmeside.dk/Marthas_dolls/
The most elaborate site on vintage fashion dolls from the 60s till the 80s, you will find Sindy, Fleur and many many others: www.sindy-dolls.com/
One of the few Sindy sites in Dutch (and for those of you who don't master Dutch, you will find lots of pics): freewebs.com/sindysite/links.htm