Bianca Lee with Tweety, one of Warner Bros.' most enduring characters

US movie giant Warner Bros. is planning a big year for licensing business in Asia, using Hong Kong as its base.

The company set up a regional office in Hong Kong in 1994 as a hub from which to efficiently work with its agents in different markets, including PMW-GB Agency Ltd. for Hong Kong and China, Double Impact Marketing & Licensing Inc. for Taiwan, and Global Brands (Singapore) Pte Ltd for South-east Asia.

"We believe in Hong Kong, with its sound legal and financial systems, governmental support on protection of intellectual rights, and strong manpower resource," said Bianca Lee, general manager, Greater China & South East Asia for Warner Bros. Consumer Products.   "Hong Kong is also a major economic hub for Asia, providing an ideal environment for us in business transactions and support."

Global distribution network

Batman returns in 2005 as Warner Bros. develops exciting projects across Asia

Warner Bros. Consumer Products, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company, is one of the leading licensing and retail merchandising organisations in the world. It has a strong portfolio of brands with broad international appeal, bringing them to different corners of the world through a global network of offices and agents.

"2004 is an exciting year for Warner Bros. Consumer Products, filled with action, adventure, mystery and magic," Ms Lee said. "We had movies Scooby Doo2: Monsters Unleashed released  early this year, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in July, Catwoman is coming to the big screen around summer, and lastly, Polar Express will reveal the true magic of holiday season. These blockbusters bring new characters to our expanding portfolio, as we continue our efforts in building exciting programmes with core brands like Looney Tunes, The Powerpuff Girls, Tom & Jerry, Superman and more. Maintaining excellence is our tradition and mission."

Ms Lee said Hong Kong is the ideal platform for building a brand for licensed products, especially in preparation for entering the mainland.

Important platform to China

"Licensing business in the Chinese mainland is still at a startup phase. Hong Kong provides an important platform for the mainland in the development of this business, by providing the expertise, the finance and legal systems, and to a certain extent the taste influence to the mainland on brand and product trends. Warner Bros. Consumer Products has entered into a multi-faceted co-operation with Hutchison Harbour Ring Ltd. We believe this co-operation will help us establish a strong foothold in the market, and to allow us to present our brands to consumers in this important region with a powerful impact."
 
Ms Lee continued: "We are continuing to develop exciting projects which have tremendous opportunities in Asia. We are looking forward to making 2005 a Batman year. Batman is a powerful and perennial brand and is one of the most recognisable and intriguing entertainment characters in history. We will offer three distinctive product lines covering comics, animated series and the feature film Batman Begins, speaking to a diverse audience of the franchise.

"Also, we have recently announced the appointment of Warner Bros. Consumer Products as the exclusive worldwide licensing representative for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. We are especially excited with the potential of this property in China and the rest of Asia."

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