(Yicai) Sept. 11 -- The Walt Disney Company, one of the world’s largest entertainment businesses, plans to deepen cooperation with overseas e-commerce retailers and platforms, as it seeks to help more Chinese licensees set up Disney-authorized cross-border stores that sell directly to consumers in global markets.

Licensed product sales have long been a major revenue stream for California-based Disney, Kermid Rahman, senior vice president and general manager of Disney Consumer Products Asia Pacific, said in an interview with Yicai yesterday during the company’s 2027 APAC consumer products launch event held in Shanghai.

After identifying the significant growth potential of international retail markets, Disney initiated this program three years ago, Rahman said. To date, more than 100 partners across the APAC region have joined the initiative, selling their Disney-licensed products in European and North American markets, as well as in Asia, he said.

Some Chinese licensees Yicai contacted said that under this partnership model, Disney leverages its intellectual property assets in film and television, overseas communication channels, and global partner network to help boost their sales. For instance, around the time of major Disney film releases, it coordinates the launch and marketing of related licensed merchandise, helping partners’ stores land more orders from abroad.

Disney plans to scale up the initiative next year, rolling out joint marketing campaigns centered on core IP assets, key product categories, and critical timing windows, Rahman revealed. “By partnering with overseas e-commerce retailers and platforms, we aim to enable more overseas consumers to directly purchase Disney-licensed goods made by our Chinese partners via these platforms,” he said.

Disney’s Chinese licensees mainly fall into two groups. The first consists of manufacturers such as Bruco, a Shanghai-based toymaker. Many of the firms in this group do not have overseas sales channels and marketing capabilities, so they are the primary target for Disney’s initiative.

The second group involves IP licensing and encompasses businesses that have their own overseas sales networks, such as Miniso, which manufactures products based on classic Disney characters like Mickey Mouse.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Tom Litting