Top brands expand with confidence (hktdc.com)

April 2002

Lead Stories

Trade & Investment

Finance & IT

April Focus: Regional Licensing centre

Industry

My Hong Kong

Home

Top brands expand with confidence

A growing number of top international brand and property owners have taken advantage of Hong Kong’s ready market, proximity to the China and the Asia-Pacific, Intellectual Property (IP) laws and easy sourcing to set up offices in Hong Kong and expand their licensing activities in the region.

Disney, NBA, Elle, Mattel, Hasbro and Tomy are among the major players to have put their trust in Hong Kong.

According to Jon Niermann, president and managing director of Walt Disney International – Asia Pacific, Hong Kong is the creative base for developing products and enhancing the Disney brand in the critically important markets of the mainland and the Asia-Pacific. “Hong Kong’s enormous significance as a beachhead for the Disney brand in the most populous nation on earth is crucial for us,” he said.

Adding that protection of IP is of paramount importance to Disney, Mr Niermann said Hong Kong as a leading centre for free enterprise facilitates and eases the company’s operating requirements.

“The Government’s approach to working with corporations on IP rights issues has improved significantly over the past few years. Customs officials are extremely co-operative and willing to work with corporations to help eliminate counterfeit products before they get to the market.”

He added that Hong Kong’s commitment to tourism, strategic location in Asia, talented people and long-standing investment in infrastructure also made it an attractive location for the Disney theme park now under construction (due to open in 2005). “We see Hong Kong as a major regional hub for Disney magic.”

Confidence in Hong Kong also led US sporting brand leader NBA to choose Hong Kong for its Asia-Pacific headquarters. Said Philip Hayes-Brown, senior director of business development for NBA Asia Limited: “The NBA brand and the 29 team brands (Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers and the rest) are critical IP assets which must be protected if we are to succeed in our business. The IP environment in Hong Kong is a key reason why we are based here.”

Mr Hayes-Brown added that as a licensor, the company needed to be close to its key markets of China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, the Philippines and Korea. “Hong Kong as a major financial and communications centre in Asia provides a solid business base for servicing and developing those markets. Perhaps most importantly, having a base in Hong Kong allows us to service all our partners, particularly our media partners in print and TV, on a real time basis.”

Hong Kong’s experience and expertise in IP laws is unmatched in the region, according to Charles Ip, vice-chairman of Playmates Interactive Entertainment Limited, a Hong Kong-based toys licensee and owner of the Ninja Turtles brand, whose major global market is the US.

“Businessmen in Hong Kong have decades of experience in licensing, while this is something that’s new for the mainland,” he said.

“Hong Kong people are so used to the regulated licensing scenario, they know what to do and what they shouldn’t do. They have the connections, the qualifications and the credibility to be awarded licences, and that requires a trust that has been earned over time.”

Top

Next Article