The Hindu Business Line : Kids Media to tap new categories for toon-based merchandise

NEW DELHI: Kids Media India, a licensing agent for toon characters, plans to tap market for merchandise in footwear, innerwear and eyewear segments as part of the expansion exercise it is undertaking.

KMI manages a portfolio comprising American toon characters like Spiderman, Iron Man and Hulk as well as Asian characters like Doraemon, Shin Chan and Digimon among others. “We will sign merchandising deals for products in footwear, innerwear and eyewear categories with firms soon,'' said the Managing Director of KMI Rajiv Sangari .

The company in the last few months has signed over 20 deals for different characters for varied consumer products across categories like apparel, bed and bath products. Mr Sangari is upbeat about the popularity of Asian characters among the Indian consum ers.

“Unlike a few years back, when manufacturers relied on only American toons, the licensing and merchandising deals are now evenly spread across American and Japanese characters,” he said.

According to an estimate, character-based licensing and merchandising industry in India to be worth around Rs 500 crore annually. Character licensing for children's products alone is estimated to be Rs 350 crore annually.

The industry is estimated to be growing at 25 per cent year-on-year, in line with growth in organised retail and penetration of regional TV channels. - PTI

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