The
license agreement is for an initial period of two
years and Funskool expects this association with Cartoon
Network will strengthen its offering in the toy market.
The
company aims to garner a market share of over 30 per
cent in the growing cartoon based merchandising category
of the organised toy market. Funskool will be locally
producing board games, puzzles and creative items
featuring the Powerpuff Girls at their factories.
Commenting
on the tie up Funskool CEO Raphael Kuriyan said, "The
relationship between entertainment based toys and
the cartoon themselves is symbiotic. TV programming
holds interest for the child and drives the toy sales,
while toys based on popular characters help promote
the viewership for shows."
"With
the demand growing for contemporary cartoon based
toys in the Indian market, we feel that this arrangement
would help us take advantage of the range of offerings
from Cartoon Network. Cartoons based toys account
for 25 per cent of our sales revenues and with this
agreement, we are now in a position to cater the domestic
price points from between Rs 150 to Rs 500,"
he further added.
Cartoon
Network Enterprises licensing director (India and
South Asia) Jiggy George said, "Powerpuff Girls
is one of the most recognised, profitable and popular
licensing properties worldwide and I am confident,
based on the show's success here that it will become
the premier girl property in India as well. We are
delighted that Funskool is the exclusive India representative
for this exciting property."
Funskool
is also planning innovative point of sale (POS) materials
to promote the toys and bring out the variety and
excitement for the Powerpuff Girls collection, including
character appearances in retail shops.
Funskool
already distributes other popular brands that are
featured on Cartoon Network like Bob the Builder,
Thomas and Friends, Batman, Superman, Tom & Jerry
and Scooby Doo.
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