THQ Signs Supply Contract with Kakao Friends at Hainan Duty-Free Shop... "Expanding Brand Portfolio"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Hyun-seok] THQ (formerly Gamma Nu) announced on the 30th that its local Chinese subsidiary, Hainan Huanwu Trading Co., Ltd., has signed a supply contract for Kakao Friends products with Shanghai Kakao Friends Trading Co., Ltd. and Hainan Haiyou Duty-Free Shop (海南旅投免稅品有限公司, HTDF) in Hainan Province, China.

Through this contract, THQ will supply Kakao Friends products to Haiyou Duty-Free Shop for the first time. It is expected that the synergy effect will be maximized through collaboration with Kakao Friends, which is actively expanding its business in the Greater China market.

THQ plans to open a Kakao Friends store in the fashion accessories section on the 5th floor of Haiyou Duty-Free Shop. Kakao Friends will conduct product sales based on its unique store interior design. THQ is expected to gain momentum in the Hainan duty-free business by attracting a leading domestic character brand.

Kakao Friends first entered the Greater China market by opening flagship stores in Taipei, Taiwan in August last year and Shanghai, China in September. Despite the COVID-19 situation, customers had to wait about three hours to enter, yet more than 6,000 customers visited the Shanghai store on weekends alone. It also attracted great attention by ranking high in real-time search rankings on Weibo, China’s largest SNS service.

Furthermore, Kakao Friends is accelerating the expansion of its stores in Greater China by opening a flagship studio at Universal Studios Beijing in September this year and a store in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in October.

A company official stated, “Recently, THQ has successfully introduced various domestic brands including cosmetics, fashion accessories, electronics, and alcoholic beverages to Haiyou Duty-Free Shop,” adding, “We have achieved meaningful results by being the first to introduce Kakao Friends, a globally recognized representative character brand, to Chinese duty-free shops.”

He continued, “THQ plans to continuously expand its brand portfolio in the future to attract imported accessories and overseas cosmetics brands.”