Global licensing industry optimistic about Chinese market

LAS VEGAS -- Foreign companies, manufacturers and retailers participating in Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, US state of Nevada, have expressed confidence in the Chinese market, voicing hope to expand business in China and seek cooperation with Chinese partners in the license industry.

Thousands of leading retailers, manufacturers and licensees from around the globe attended Licensing Expo 2023, the world's premier licensing trade show, held in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Thursday.

The show provided opportunities for retailers, licensees, and manufacturers to connect with the world's most influential entertainment, character, art, and corporate brand owners as well as agents to discover brands, develop new consumer products, and explore cooperation.

Over 250 exhibitors were on the show floor at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, spanning across a wide range of categories including TV & film, entertainment, sports, gaming, publishing, automotive, corporate brands and art.

Among them were some Chinese brands showcasing their licensed products, programs and characters, attracting the attention of lots of foreign firms, agents and visitors.

Boaz Weinstein, co-CEO of Uni-T Group, a Cyprus-based company specializing in exporting high quality food and products from the world, stopped by at the booth of bilibili, a leading video community for young generations in China.

"We work with manufactures of soft drinks and confectionaries in different countries in Asia and South America. And we are looking to do licensee -- to put the license on the products and then we can sell them to the European markets and the Middle East markets," Weinstein told Xinhua.

He said his company imports from China different products such as confectionary snacks, selling to the European and the Middle East markets.

Weinstein was looking forward to doing licensee of animal figures with Chinese companies.

Victoria Chang, brand manager of Hang Ten, a California lifestyle and apparel brand that had its origins in surf wear but now makes mass-market casual clothing and other items, told Xinhua that China is a very important overseas market, and the company has hundreds of retail stores and licensing program in China.

"The Chinese market is huge, and grows very fast," Chang said, adding that Hang Ten hopes to further expand businesses and seek more cooperation opportunities in China.

Global sales of licensed merchandise and services reached a groundbreaking 340.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, an uptick of 8 percent compared to 2021, according to figures from Licensing International, the leading trade association for global brand licensing industry.

The year 2023 witnessed continued global sales growth of licensed merchandise across categories spanning retail, entertainment, sports, and more, according to a report released by Licensing International on the sidelines of the expo.

China is the world's 5th largest licensing market with the fastest growth of annual retail sales of licensed merchandise and services, Tani Wong, managing director of Greater China and Southeast Asia at Licensing International, told Xinhua.

Overseas IP (intellectual property) owners have great interest in entering the Chinese market, and are optimistic about the growth of China's licensing industry, she said.

Many foreign IP owners seek to connect with Chinese companies or licensing agents through the expo, and further expand cooperation with Chinese partners, Wong told Xinhua.

For more than 40 years, Licensing Expo has connected the world's most influential entertainment, character, art, and corporate brand owners and agents with consumer goods manufacturers, licensees and retailers.