Itochu Corp. has drawn up plans to tap into the growing animation and character market in Asia, with the launch of a joint venture in partnership with a Hong Kong-based licensing agent and other industry players involved in the popular Moomins brand.
As a first step, the new venture intends to distribute episodes of the animated "Moomin" series and sell merchandise featuring the Finnish characters, along with developing cafes and theme parks.
Character licensing has become a lucrative market in Asia -- particularly in China.
By 2019, the Chinese market for character licensing had expanded to 1.3 trillion yen, driven by strong demand from the generation born after 1995.
The joint venture will also support Japanese companies that want to expand overseas, catering to the international popularity of Japanese anime and manga.
The venture was established with a Hong Kong agency involved in the licensing of anime and sports content in Chinese-speaking countries.
Itochu said it expects the venture to net about 10 billion yen in annual sales in five years' time.
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