As a leading enterprise in the pan entertainment industry, Card Game has taken a new step in expanding its IP linkage map.
On October 17th, the "Biqi Party" limited time pop-up store of Little Ma Baoli, jointly organized by Card Game and American toy company Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS), was officially unveiled at Shanghai Jing'an Joy City. During the one month pop-up event, Card Game will present multiple experiences such as pop-up stores, themed check-in, and interactive atmosphere, allowing live audiences to step into the colorful world of Little Burberry and experience the charm of IP and Card Game products.
At a press conference held at the same time, Card Game officially announced a deep cooperation with Hasbro and obtained global authorization for the "Little Pony" series. The English and Japanese versions of "Little Pony" card products also made their debut at the press conference, and will be released in Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other regions in the future.
From traditional physical cards to online card games, and then to cross-border collaborations and the rise of esports, the traditional card industry is undergoing profound changes. With the advent of the digital age, the card market has ushered in unprecedented development opportunities on a global scale. The Chinese card market, as an important part of it, has not only shown strong growth momentum in the domestic market, but also emerged on the international stage.
Breaking the card game with 'Little Pony' and setting sail for a new game
It is worth noting that after reaching a strategic cooperation with Hasbro, Card Game has lit up the big screens in the city centers of Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, spreading the card image of "Little Pony" to various parts of the world. This means that after completing the initial expansion of the domestic market, a group of domestic pan entertainment brands represented by card games have begun to consider how to promote card and other pan entertainment products to set sail overseas.
The deep cooperation with Hasbro is a crucial step for Card Game to explore globalization.
Obtaining the global authorization for "Little Pony" is not only a recognition of the quality and innovation capabilities of Card Game products, but also an important step in our global exploration, "said Mei Yunxuan, Senior Vice President of Card Game, at the press conference.
And the IP value of "Little Pony" itself is also a bargaining chip for card games. This IP, launched by Hasbro in 1983, has a layout in toys, games, authorized consumer goods, publications, music, film and television content, digital games, live entertainment, and other areas. The high-quality content combined with rich IP forms has laid a solid audience foundation for "Little Pony" globally and attracted a large number of fans to engage in fan generated creations.
Since the initial cooperation between Card Game and Hasbro in 2021, Card Game has also launched multiple collectible card products around "Little Pony" with its mature manufacturing pipeline and refined operation of IP. The "Little Pony" card has become one of the most popular products under Card Game.
On the other hand, from the selection strategy of the destination for this voyage, it is evident that Card Game is well prepared.
According to data from Zhuoshi Consulting, as early as 2022, the card market size in Japan and Southeast Asia reached 11.4 billion yuan and 1.7 billion yuan, and is expected to grow rapidly in the next five years. The Southeast Asian Toy&Game Market Report released by Yuehai Capital shows that in 2023, the toy market size in Southeast Asia reached 5.64 billion US dollars (approximately 40.14 billion yuan). This time, the card game selected Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia as the first regions to release its products, precisely because it saw the potential for expansion in these major markets.
It is worth noting that in the layout of card games going global, Card Game has already chosen to prioritize cultural dissemination. At the 2024 Paris International Fair - "Encountering China" 2024 Chinese Culture Theme Exhibition held in May this year, Card Game showcased four classic series of cards, including "Card Game Three Kingdoms".
The traditional classic card games such as "Card Game Three Kingdoms" are our tribute to traditional culture and our cultural dialogue with the younger generation around the world, "said the person in charge of Card Game at the exhibition." We hope to use this form to let the world feel the charm of Chinese culture, and also to bring traditional culture back to the daily lives of contemporary young people in a more vivid and modern way
During the Paris Olympics, the first set of Chinese sports culture cards designed and developed by Card Game under the guidance of the General Administration of Sport of China was also unveiled in Paris. Through innovative cultural expressions such as cuju figurines, eight dan brocade albums, and martial arts character snuff bottles, the charm of Chinese sports culture was spread through the exquisite craftsmanship of contemporary Chinese cards.
From IP authorization to original incubation
From a data perspective, China's pan entertainment industry is in a period of rapid growth, and the market size is gradually expanding.
As a high growth sub segment of domestic entertainment consumption, the penetration rate of collectible cards is expected to continue to increase. According to the report on the pan entertainment product industry by Tianfeng Securities, the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the period from 2017 to mid-2022 exceeded 70%; The estimated compound annual growth rate from 2022 to 2027 is 20.6%, indicating a large penetration potential in mature overseas markets.
In this context, many overseas card manufacturers and IPs have also set their sights on the blue ocean of the Chinese market. Since 2022, competitive (TCG, Trading card game) cards such as "Game King", "Pok é mon", and "Digimon" have been introduced one after another.
But the real start of our country's collectible cards can be traced back to 2018. In February 2018, Card Game, which had been established for 7 years, obtained IP authorization from Shanghai Xinchuang Hua, the domestic agent of Ultraman Tiga. Since then, Card Game has launched a business model of "IP authorization"+"card production".
In addition to expanding the IP licensing landscape, Card Game is also vigorously promoting and incubating original IPs. Card Game Three Kingdoms "is the company's first proprietary IP launched in April 2023. According to data, as of the third quarter of 2023, the cumulative total transaction volume of Card Game Three Kingdoms themed products exceeded 110 million yuan.
In the first quarter of 2024, the incubation of original IPs in card games will become more frequent. In February, Card Game's first original comic IP "Breaking the Void" was launched on Tencent Animation platform. In March, Card Game officially announced the launch of China's first genuine Jin Yong martial arts card.
According to data previously disclosed by the official website of Card Game, as of September 30, 2023, the IP matrix of Card Game has included over 40 IPs, covering fields such as anime, games, and classics. In addition to Ultraman, it also includes Yeluo Li, Douluo Continent Animation, Card Game Three Kingdoms, Egg Party, Naruto, Detective Conan, and Harry Potter.
The layout of the entire industry chain supports the blueprint for going global
Behind the overseas expansion of Card Game's card products is the full industry chain layout of Card Game as a support. According to the official website information, Card Game has formed a dual headquarters layout in Shanghai and Zhejiang. Shanghai serves as the research and development and operation center, while Zhejiang serves as the production and logistics center. It has also opened branches in Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Japan and other places.
The self owned production base of Card Game also ensures the high quality of products and quick response to market demand.
At present, Kayou has three operational production bases and one logistics center located in Zhejiang and Guangdong, supporting its nationwide sales network. The production base in Kaihua, Zhejiang started operating in August 2020, mainly producing interchangeable cards; The production bases located in Yiwu, Zhejiang and Dongguan, Guangdong will start operating in March and April 2023, respectively producing stationery and packaging dolls.
It is reported that the time required for card games from product design to product launch on sales terminals is only 20 to 30 days. This is thanks to the company having 9 design studios dedicated to product design and development, covering 270 professionals in the fields of original art, graphic design, and 3D design, as well as a support team of over 90 art designers who can flexibly allocate support studios as needed.
In addition, two production facilities under construction in Yiwu, Zhejiang are expected to be completed in 2024 and 2025, with annual production capacities of 300000 and 3 million pieces respectively.
According to Shi Rankui, the general manager of KaYo Technology Co., Ltd., KaYo has world-class printing equipment such as German Manroland, paired with KaYo's exclusive double-sided printing paper, and independently developed cutting-edge technologies such as cold pressing, dazzling colors, and 3D printing.
Only thick accumulation can thin hair. Against the backdrop of the continuous expansion of the pan entertainment product market, with its full industry chain layout and solid product strength, Card Game is further deepening and consolidating its IP accumulation, production technology, and channel advantages, and exploring the true potential of China's pan entertainment industry to sail overseas.