In order to capitalise on the booming cartoon based retail toy market, Funskool India has entered into an exclusive agreement with Cartoon Network to retail the channel’s Powerpuff Girls merchandising.
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.