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LICENSED CHARACTERS for stationery have taken off, with children all over the world owning at least one item featuring a cartoon character.

The trend has gone global in recent years, according to Harald Peter,  president of Disney licensee What's New?

The president of the International Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association, Charles Riotto, said growth in the stationery licensing business was healthy, with a 6.8 per cent rise in 2003. Retail sales of licensed stationery that year reached US$3.9 billion.

Both Mr Peter and Mr Riotto will be speaking at the International Stationery Fair Licensing Seminar tomorrow.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Messe Frankfurt (HK), the fair's organisers, have expanded the event after its first seminar on the topic in 2003 attracted a large audience. It introduced the seminar after noticing a growing trend in the use of licensed themes for products.

This year's seminar is scheduled for a full day and will feature more speakers.

Mr Peter will talk on 'Essential perspectives for choosing successful licensing themes for their products'.

'Choosing a successful consumer product licence depends exclusively on consumer preferences. The most consistently successful licensees - excluding the lucky ones - are those who know their customers and their purchasing impulses better than their competition does,' he said.

He said theme merchandising was growing, but over-exposure might lower consumer interest.

'If everything becomes special, nothing is special,' he said.

He also said companies should not adopt a theme just because it might be successful in one market.

'There is a common misconception that what is good in one market will also work elsewhere. If the basic rule of knowing one's consumer base is ignored, the product risks too high a degree of failure,' he said.

Mr Riotto will introduce the trend of licensed products in the United States.

'The US is still by far the largest market for the creation of licensing properties. Entertainment brands [such as characters in films and on television] are still the most popular, accounting for about 43 per cent of all sales of licensed merchandise in the US.'

He said Spider-Man, Shrek, SpongeBob SquarePants,  Winnie the Pooh, Scooby-Doo and Yu-Gi-Oh were among the most popular licensed characters last year, but space for further growth in sales of licensed products based on these entertainment characters was minimal.

Instead, corporate brands, slogans and names, sports teams and arts categories licensed for use on different products had experienced strong growth.

'Sports licensing has been very strong recently because many young adults in the US wear sports apparel as a fashion statement,' he said.

'Many artists are now licensing their designs rather than just selling their artwork for a one-time fee. As a result, the market for licensed art products has grown steadily over the past few years in the States.'

Also speaking at the seminar are Bernie Hung  of law firm Linklaters HK, which specialises in licensing; Marlies Rasl,  president of MR Merchandising and Retail; and Bianca Lee,  general manager for consumer products at Warner Bros.

The seminar will run from 10.30am to 12.30pm and from 2.30pm to 4.30pm tomorrow in Room 201B at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. It is free and registration can be done at the door.



Licensed cartoon characters prove their popularity