[Exclusive] Mickey to Help Disney Widen Its China Appeal in Year of Rat, Executive Says
Le Yan
DATE:  Jan 17 2020
/ SOURCE:  yicai
[Exclusive] Mickey to Help Disney Widen Its China Appeal in Year of Rat, Executive Says [Exclusive] Mickey to Help Disney Widen Its China Appeal in Year of Rat, Executive Says

(Yicai Global) Jan. 16 -- The Walt Disney Company plans to broaden its customer base in China with more locally appealing products, an executive at the entertainment giant said. With the Year of the Rat, one of 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, just around the corner, the US firm sees a great opportunity.

After three years of preparations, Mickey Mouse-themed events including pop-up shops are to be part of the Lunar New Year celebrations in well-known shopping malls in eight large Chinese cities, Kermid Rahman, Walt Disney's vice president and general manager of consumer products commercialization in China and Korea, told Yicai Global recently.

The California-based company is collaborating with artisans from Shanghai's cultural attraction Yuyuan Garden for the first time this year to create traditional lanterns featuring Mickey and Minnie Mouse figures, he said. Disney has also designed hundreds of Year of the Rat products with authorized partners in the food, clothing, housing and travel industries.

Chinese consumers are fond of products with a familiar feel, Rahman said, adding that tastes in one region can vary significantly from another region. So the firm has set up teams in different cities to study lifestyle and consumption patterns to come up with products and experiences that suit local demands.

China is the world's second-largest movie market and is still growing rapidly, Rahman added. Disney's Marvel movie series has done particularly well in the country, he said. Its compound annual growth rate has hit 50 percent over the last three years.

Again, Chinese tastes in film and entertainment are quite varied. Walt Disney will focus on creating more personalized entertainment content to enhance the customer experience, he said. It is always trying to reach people via new technologies and platforms, by hosting art concept exhibitions and fashion shows for instance.

Editor: Kim Taylor

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Keywords:   Walt Disney,Year of the Rat