Chinese companies embrace new opportunities at world's leading licensing expo

People visit the exhibition area of bilibili, a leading video community for young generations in China, during Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, the United States, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

LAS VEGAS, June 15 (Xinhua) -- Companies of the Chinese licensing industry are participating in a world's leading licensing expo this week in Las Vegas, U.S. state of Nevada, seeking opportunities to expand their influence and businesses in the global licensing market.

Licensing Expo 2023, one of the world's largest licensing trade shows and held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas from Tuesday to Thursday, draws thousands of leading retailers, manufacturers and licensees from around the globe.

The show offers opportunities for participants 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 are on the show floor, spanning across a wide range of categories including TV &film, entertainment, sports, gaming, publishing, automotive, corporate brands and art.

Some Chinese companies took the stage, showcasing their licensed products, programs and characters. As a leading video community for young generations in China, bilibili drew lots of attention from foreign firms, agents as well as show visitors.

Its show booth was packed with posters of bilibili-made documentaries, animation series covering a vast array of genres including sci-fi, action, comedy and romance, as well as virtual artists with different personality traits and talents.

"It's our first time being at Licensing Expo in the United States. Animations are a universal language that connects young people around the world. We bring our animations and other popular licensed products to the show, presenting them to the world, in a hope that more people could experience China-made animations and Chinese culture, and learn what the Chinese younger generations are interested in," Zhengying Xie, copyright director at bilibili, told Xinhua.

Through participating in the expo, bilibili expects to further boost popularity and influence in the global licensing market, and reach out to more potential partners, she said.

The company's booth attracted lots of foreign firm representatives and show visitors.

"They (bilibili-made animations) look pretty cool, very interesting. I might be able to help them reach the American market or even the French market if they wanna dub some of their shows into English and French languages," Claire Dodin, director of operations of VOFFLA, a Los Angeles-based audio production company that produces multilingual voice recordings and animated character voices, told Xinhua.

Dodin said she was also exploring opportunities that her show could be played on bilibili.

B. Duck, an iconic intellectual property (IP) character of Semk Products Limited, a product design company headquartered in Shenzhen, China, won the award of "Top Global Licensors" by License Global, the official publication for Licensing Expo. It was the fifth time the company participating in the annual trade show.

"As a Chinese brand, besides expanding business in the Chinese mainland, we also hope to bring our IP products overseas to expand our influence and popularity in the global market," Vincent Cheung, executive director and general manager of Semk Holdings International Limited, told Xinhua.

"The show is very important to us. We are looking for resources for cooperation as well as promotion plans through participating at Licensing Expo. We also hope that we can make Chinese culture known to the world and bring Chinese IP to the international market," he noted.

Stephanie Kupperman, CEO of Licensing 360, a merchandise licensing agency specializing in extending entertainment brands into powerful worldwide consumer product programs, told Xinhua B. Duck is the first Chinese company that her firm cooperates with. "It is a massive brand in China, Thailand and other parts of Asia. This is an opportunity to be very influential on a brand in the United States and build the brand story in the United States. I'm excited to be at the beginning stage as of that. Grow it with us."

As for how to promote Chinese brands to the world, Kupperman said consumer products are only one piece of the puzzle. "It's also going to be building social media channels, press awareness and building the brand really through the ground up."

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, leading trade organization for the global licensing industry and sponsor of the expo, told Xinhua.

Many foreign brands attach great important of the Chinese market and hopes to access to the massive market, Wong said. 

People visit the exhibition area of Chinese brand B. Duck during Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, the United States, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

A woman visits the exhibition area of bilibili, a leading video community for young generations in China, during Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, the United States, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

People visit the exhibition area of Chinese brand B. Duck during Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, the United States, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

People visit the exhibition area of Chinese brand B. Duck during Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, the United States, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

People visit the exhibition area of bilibili, a leading video community for young generations in China, during Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, the United States, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)

People visit the exhibition area of bilibili, a leading video community for young generations in China, during Licensing Expo 2023 in Las Vegas, the United States, on June 13, 2023. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)