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Hit Transformers movie propels spin-off toy sales

By Chen Limin (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-20 07:45

With the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen enjoying record ticket sales in China this month, spin-offs of Transformer toys and other products are booming, too.

The action movie's ticket sales totaled more than 400 million yuan in China in its first three weeks in theaters.

Like earlier hit movies such as the Star Wars and Batman series of films, spin-off toys became top sellers, too.

"Transformer toy sales increased by 70 percent to 80 percent after the movie came out," Liu Yang, marketing manager of UME Huaxing International Cineplex, told China Business Weekly.

"Sales were even higher on weekends. They almost doubled, compared to weekdays," Liu said.

Spin-offs included Transformer toys, key rings and other gadgets.

A special stamp album featuring likenesses of Transformer characters, although priced at 500 yuan each, also were popular, Liu said.

"For people in their 20s and 30s, watching a Transformer movie is like reuniting with a lost friend," said Wei Wei, owner of a Beijing toy shop.

Although Wei's shop is only about 60 sq m in size, daily sales usually hit 6,000 yuan in the wake of the new Transformer movie's release, he said.

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"The first Transformer movie attracted mainly the 70s and 80s generations," Wei said about the movie based on a popular children's television show of that era.

"Now small children also come and buy models to play with," Wei said.

Like Transformer toys, the movie features colorful robots that "transform" into cars and other objects.

It's not just toys. Other products featuring a Transformer tie-in are becoming popular, too.

"Without any advertisement and in just about a month, the sales of our Transformer USB flash drives were up to almost 10,000," Zeng Ni, marketing manager of Tsinghua Tongfang Co Ltd, said about his company's new product.

"We knew that Transformers would be the talk of the town, so last year we began to develop a series of Transformer IT products," Zeng said.

His company's efforts paid off. In addition to USB flash drives, the company introduced Transformer laptops and desktops.

Both items posted sales increases of 20 percent to 30 percent since the end of June, following the movie's release, Zeng said.

"We focused on the large number of Transformer fans, and we were right," Zeng said.

The Meters/bonwe Group formed a partnership with US-based Hasbro Inc to become the only Chinese fashion and accessories company licensed to use Transformers images, typefaces and logos.

Among the hot summer sellers on the company's online store at Taobao.com is a Bumblee T-shirt.

More than 800 T-shirts featuring the yellow robot character from the movie have sold recently, the company reported.

"It's delightful that we still have a double-digit year-on-year increase in sales amid a sluggish economy and the off-season," Xu Weidong, deputy general manager of Meters/bonwe, was cited by The Economic Observer as saying.

Meters/bonwe also landed a deal for "product placement" in the new movie.

Xu labeled the appearance of Meters/bonwe products in the movie as a "win-win situation" for advertising his company's products, although he declined to disclose the cost of the deal.

While US moviemakers have long promoted the appeal of spin-off toys and other products, the Chinese movie industry has yet to fully capitalize on spin-offs, some Chinese industry experts said.

"Most of the movie-related merchandise for Chinese films is too low-end," Jiang Youzhi, a project manager at Beijing Film Studio, was quoted by Beijing Business Today as saying.

What China needs are more hit films and also stronger distribution channels, sources said.