Returning to the China Licensing Expo, held in Shanghai from 17 to 19 October, was a great opportunity to discover trends in the Asian market.
The first thing you can see when visiting this trade fair is its richness and also the differences from pre-covid Asian trends. The first thing one notices is that, unlike a few years ago, international brands are not predominant in the offerings to the many professional visitors.
Out of more than 300 exhibitors, spread across three large halls, there are certainly the big brands represented by world-class companies – such as Hasbro, WildBrain, Dargaud, Rights & Brands, Chupa Chups and others -, but on the other hand, the predominance of Asian brands, especially Chinese, then Japanese and Korean, is evident, most of which have never been offered on the international or western market.
Many of these have the potential to be known and appreciated worldwide, and among them are B. Duck, which is already developing in this sense, the animation company Winsing‘s brands, the intriguing young adults’ brand Le.Pupu by LEVVV, and TV IPs for children and iconic at the same time such as Nailoong and LeadJoy. These are just a few examples of a very rich offer.
In addition to the extraordinary development of museum licensing, to which one of the three pavilions of the event was dedicated, the Chinese market is characterised by characters that often, if not present on the Chinese market in depth, risk being similar at a superficial glance, but on the contrary they all have a lot of potential, and are well established at a ‘local’ level, where by this term we mean a gigantic market – the Chinese and Asian one – often self-sufficient for the success and development of an IP.
In essence, the Chinese market is very well structured, mature and rich, and all to be explored to develop new opportunities.
Below is a rich photo gallery of the brands that exhibited at China Licensing Expo 2023 in October. Licensing Magazine is excited to return next year with an even more articulated presence and to bring a very special issue of our magazine in a special Chinese version to further consolidate the network between European, American and Asian brands. Stay tuned!
