Realising well nurtured dreams

Retailer: When did you venture into licensing and merchandising (L&M) activities and when was it first that you tasted success in this space?

Rajiv Chilaka (RC): We started our L&M activities way back in 2004, but didn’t have the bandwidth for distribution, neither did we have a hit show. We rekindled this idea again in Sept 2008 once we realised that Chhota Bheem was a huge hit. In January 2009 we put up a stall in a two-day exhibition in Hyderabad, wherein we tested our comic, coloring and activity books and sold around 500 copies in two days. This gave us enough confidence to surge forward in the direction of L&M. Later on we extended to other categories such as DVDs, Apparels, Watches, School Bags, Caps, Photo Frames, Mugs, Pencil Stands, Key Chains, Magnets, Labels, Stickers, Tattoos, etc.

 

Retailer: Which are the characters that constitute your current portfolio and which are the markets you’re catering to at this moment?

RC: Characters from our hugely popular shows, Chhota Bheem and Krishna Balram, mainly constitute our L&M portfolio as of today. We are shortly launching products on our latest show, “Chorr Police” which has tasted success on Hungama TV. We are catering mainly to India and plans are underway to expand this activity to other regions.

 

Retailer: What are the plans in offing regarding expanding the portfolio of IP/animated characters in near future? What kind of research do you undertake while adding a potential character/IP in your portfolio?

RC: Since its very inception, Green Gold has been focusing on creating IP/animated characters and we would continue to do so in the coming decade for sure. So far we have developed popular shows such as Vikram Betal, Krishna, Chhota Bheem, Krishna Balram and Chorr Police.

Being in the industry since the initial stage has helped us in connecting and understanding present day kids better. This is proven by the fact that all our shows till date were very well received. We have a team of experts working on new IP/show concepts and we bounce the ideas off leading kid’s channels before materialising those ideas.

 

Retailer: Green Gold Animation has recently come up with a Green Gold Store in Hyderabad. It is since when that you were nurturing this dream? Which are the cities in which you plan to expand your retail presence?

RC: We have started to set up Green Gold Stores which would be a chain of specialty stores selling only Green Gold related items, some of them exclusive. Thanks to our hugely popular shows. We at Green Gold managed to establish a very strong Licensing & Merchandising company actively involved in getting new products released regularly. With our exclusive store we would be in better position to maximise value of our products. This store is a pilot project for us and we have plans to expand it to other cities soon. Our aim is to reach a target of six centres by the end of the year 2011. To start with, we plan to open stores in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Chennai and Lucknow. Having our own store is a dream that we saw 10 years ago. We are happy that our store can take kids closer to the characters that we have created over the years.

 

Retailer: What was the kind of investment that was required to come up with this store and what is the kind of investment that you’re planning to do in the coming times with regards to opening new stores?

RC: Including the infrastructure, stock, rental deposits, etc we had invested around INR 10 lakh into our first store. We are opting for the franchise route as this is the best way to expand the business successfully. We are looking for right partners with whom we can create win-win situations.   

 

Retailer: Which are the new product categories for L&M in the pipeline? How has been the response so far for the licensed merchandise?

RC: Later this year we would be launching Toys and Board Games.  We have recently licensed Chhota Bheem’s Character for Notty (kids drink) and Vividha (jkids furniture and room décor).  We are in the final stages for closing few more licensing deals. We also plan to sell the products that we license in our stores.

 

Retailer: You are focused on developing original content for Indian and international markets. Who are your partners for India and abroad? What are the criteria you look for while choosing them?

RC: Our focus has always been creating original content for India, and at the moment we are taking the same content into international markets. In India our content is aired on Pogo, Cartoon Network, Hungama and Disney Channels. We are lucky that giants like Turner and Disney, who add so much value to our content, have partnered with us in airing our content.

 

Retailer: Who is your target audience and how do you identify a potential market before you decide to enter it? What remains to be your core marketing strategy?

RC: All the shows produced so far by us have been developed keeping in mind the keen sentiments and expectations of a predominantly Indian audience. Our target audience is primarily kids between ages two to fourteen. Currently, the local TV stations for kids are looking for contents meant for the kids aged above four and which are primarily for the Indian audience.

 

Retailer: How do you formulate the pricing strategy for your licensed merchandise and what is the price range for your products?

RC: Our products are priced for the masses and we have made sincere efforts to make it affordable to all sections of the society. Before we launch any product, we do rigorous market study and research besides doing sampling with kids and their parents to get feedback. We continue to do our best in giving value to our products matching them with good quality, packaging and also sourcing them from the best of vendors in India and China.

Our merchandise prices range starts from INR 20 to INR 599, covering various kids’ product categories.

 

Retailer: In your opinion, what is the future of licensing and animation in India and how do you perceive this industry to grow in the next five years? How ripe is the market abroad and what is, according to you, lacking in the Indian market?

RC: The future is definitely very bright, but it is not easy to establish a profitable L&M activity unless very popular animated shows/characters are associated with it. At the moment animation characters generate negligible revenues through L&M in India, but this would change over the next 5 years. The L&M industry in India is expected to grow 50 per cent every year for the next two years. In developed nations, L&M activity is already an established business, while In India, the L&M activity has just begun.


 

 

 

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