With the rise of the trend of going global, more businesses are seeking opportunities in cross-border markets.
The 2025 Consumer Products Division Launch Conference of Walt Disney Greater China was held on September 10th. Lin Jiawen, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Walt Disney's Consumer Products Division in the Asia Pacific region, revealed in an interview with First Financial News that Disney Consumer Products has been trying to develop cross-border business since last year. Currently, nearly 70 partners in the Asia Pacific region have officially launched cross-border business, and many Chinese brands have already gone global to the Southeast Asian market.
It is understood that Walt Disney's business model is "content is king", creating a series of IPs and developing various derivative products, including theme parks, cruise ships, clothing, food, daily necessities, cars, appliances, and even musicals, which are also a continuation of the IP economy.
At present, Walt Disney has several major divisions under its umbrella, including Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, 20th Century Pictures, and National Geographic. Each division has different IPs and related consumer products. Walt Disney will develop products and collaborate on product channels based on the attributes of each IP.
Since last year, Walt Disney has launched a cross-border business strategy, relying on Disney's global resources to help local authorized partners expand overseas. For example, a local retail enterprise can open up overseas sales channels and layout overseas markets through Disney after obtaining Disney's authorized cooperation.
When it comes to the reasons and models for going global, Lin Jiawen told First Financial reporters, "Our overseas strategy has been going on for about a year. We are looking for partners and starting sales from June. The overseas plan can help partners explore the market and gain more business opportunities. Of course, it is also an opportunity for Disney to grow and drive performance. In terms of cooperation models, Disney has a lot of resources in overseas markets. We can help partners establish retailers and channels, and even assist partners in site selection, product design, etc. Many local merchants have good products, but they are definitely unfamiliar with overseas markets when they go global for the first time. Through our resource docking in overseas markets, we can increase business opportunities. I believe that through its overseas strategy, Disney's consumer goods performance in Greater China is expected to be impressive in the next fiscal year
It is worth noting that the overall sales pressure in the retail market is not small now. Regarding this, Lin Jiawen stated that there is indeed market pressure, but Disney's consumer goods sector will make a 5-year strategy to prepare in advance to better respond to market challenges. At present, the number of authorized partners we cooperate with is still growing, such as Bubble Mart and Miniso, which have good sales performance. Of course, the products must be innovative and maintain youthfulness
When it comes to future development, Lin Jiawen revealed, "In the next five years, we hope to help more authorized partners enter the Asia Pacific, even European and North American markets. Through the products we jointly create with local authorized partners, we aim to reach more and more consumers around the world
According to interviews with First Financial reporters, more and more industries are adopting a strategy of going global, such as coffee and tea drinks, retail, stationery, medical equipment, and even photovoltaic energy.
The industry believes that going global, especially to the Southeast Asian market, can provide businesses with more business opportunities, increase profits, and the costs in the Southeast Asian market are relatively more controllable. However, going global also carries risks, such as differences in customer preferences, cultural differences, pricing, laws, regulations, and policies in different markets. Going to Southeast Asia is a new business opportunity, but we must also pay attention to the above-mentioned risk issues.