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Original licensed merchandise from Angry Birds, the mobile game of wingless birds owned by Rovio Entertainment, has crossed revenues of Rs 50 crore in India.
Dream Theatre, Rovio’s licensed merchandising agency, is expecting sales to escalate this festival season with companies such as Bata associating with the franchise.
Concept of licensing
“The about-to-strike Angry Birds phenomenon is an indicator of how the Indian retail market has warmed up to the concept of licensing, which is commonplace in the West. The popularity of Angry birds is phenomenal and the first of its kind for the Indian market where majority of licensed merchandising so far have hinged on TV exposure. This simple and fun game has captured the imagination of fans,’’ says Jiggy George, CEO and Founder, Dream Theatre.
Roping in Indian companies such as Swadesh (for gifts and stationery) and Excel (plush toys), the Angry Birds franchise currently has 140 licensed products being sold at 600 odd retail points, across categories ranging from adult apparel, plush toys to stationery and gifts and novelties.
“The advent of Android and iPhones having Angry Birds games has helped expand the reach of this franchise. Today, we have one third of our sales coming from Angry Birds products amongst all the character-based merchandise we have at our stores,’’ said Prasanna Nagarajan, Category Manager for toys and gifting, Cross Word Book Store.
This festival season will see another 350-odd products from the franchise across footwear and footwear accessories, kids apparel, fashion bags, and even furniture.
Target audience
Footwear majors such as Bata are also reaching out to the target audience through the licensing pact with the property.
Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, Group Managing Director, Bata India Ltd, said, “With this association, we look forward to further strengthen our relations with our younger audience. With a variety of products for pre-teens and teens, Angry Birds footwear with its styles and designs is expected to entice younger customers.”
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