By Mark Seavy

At last week’s Licensing Expo China, homegrown brands stood on equal footing with global film studios and toy companies across a broad range of product categories.

While Hasbro (My Little Pony), Warner Bros. Discovery (Tom & Jerry, Harry Potter, Discovery Channel), and Universal (Minions) grabbed their share of floor space at the show, so too did Chinese brands and characters like B. Duck,  Robbi (RobbiArt) and South Korea’s Esther Bunny (K Vision).

Attendees at the show were focused on a Chinese market where sales of licensed products hit $13.8 billion in 2023, according to Licensing International’s upcoming Global Licensing Industry Study. The strengthening of local brands was evidenced by anime, comics, games, and novels consuming about half the show floor, joined by film and television brands as well as culture and art brands (including museums), agents, and lifestyle trends.

Leading the charge for local brands was Semk International Holdings, which renamed itself B. Duck Semk International Holdings and increased the number of licensees for the character to 455 as of December (up from 406 a year earlier)

Semk, which also exhibited in May at Licensing Expo in Las Vegas, has licensed B. Duck for inclusion in videogames like Pubg Studios’ Pubg Battlegrounds and NetEase’s Identity V as well as a range of consumer products and location-based entertainment. It licensed Nanjing Dream Union Entertainment for indoor playgrounds with plans for 15 locations, six of which have opened since 2020.

The company has also deployed its Buffy character in Canton Dim Sum restaurants. And Semk formed a joint venture, Shenzhen Dream Studio Technology Co., to develop game titles and has plans for international expansion after having secured licensing agents for Brazil, Russia, and South Africa.

“We hope to change the traditional ways of expression of the Semk Group’s IP brands in shaking off the old labels and injecting into them new energy, making them more youthful and giving them more vivid positioning,” CEO Ha Lum Hui said in Semk’s annual report.

A focus on creating unique experiences was evident on the show floor, where LBE and virtual reality technology were major topics of conversation.

For example, K Vision’s Esther Bunny—the creation of Korean American artist Esther Kim—is expanding into Japan after signing a representation deal with Diamond Group.  It also has licensing program in China. Among the initial projects is a partnership that will feature Esther Bunny in pop-ups at Dazdia Corp.’s Marion Crepes restaurants in Japan. The pop-up features two types of Esther Bunny crepes along with Kim’s illustrations and limited-edition key chains. Additionally, blind box supplier Yanchuang Culture was at Licensing Expo China to support its Mio Dessert, Lucky Emma, and Alice Gifts brands.

The appeal of Chinese brands and companies in other regions was further illustrated by the United Arab Emirates-based Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone taking booth space at the show. Ras Al Khaimah is a free trade zone established in 2020 that has since attracted 14,000 companies across 50 industries.

In the same way that Chinese brands are appealing to consumers around the world, the number of global companies looking to expand into China was illustrated by the raft of international brands attending the tradeshow. Alibaba’s Alifish, whose booth was busy at the show, is working to grow a five-year agreement it signed with Sanrio in 2023 to license its stable of 26 characters, including Hello Kitty, in China. Similarly, Hasbro has announced its plans to further grow in the region.

“China has become a vital strategic market and growth engine for Hasbro, and we have seen significant progress in our operations in the market in recent years,” said Marianne James, VP of Consumer Products for Europe and Asia at Hasbro told the Chinese news outlet Shine last fall. “Hasbro plans to further expand its presence in China, working with more local partners to bring products and experiences that resonate with local consumers.”