SAMG's Mini Special Forces Achieves Highest Sales Among K-Kids IPs Entering China

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hyowon] SAMG Entertainment (CEO Kim Suhoon, hereinafter SAMG) announced on the 6th that the cumulative MD sales in the Chinese market using the intellectual property (IP) of its globally popular animation ‘Mini Force’ have reached 180 billion KRW.

Since Mini Force officially entered the Chinese market in 2019, it has released about 1,000 types of products and sold up to 16 million items, continuing record-breaking sales growth in the Chinese kids market.

Along with the expansion of sales in China, the royalties from the Mini Force IP also set an all-time high record. As various business areas such as animation, toys, new media, and musicals have been developed in the Chinese market, Mini Force’s royalty sales in the third quarter of this year recorded about 1.2 billion KRW, a 183% increase compared to the same period last year.

SAMG is minimizing risks occurring in China, such as the Hanhanryeong (Korean Wave ban), based on a business partnership with Wowdati, China’s largest media group, securing stable sales and expanding its business. Since entering the Chinese market, SAMG is the only content company in Korea to continuously maintain stable sales.

Next year, the theatrical animation ‘Mini Force: Attack of the Hamburger Monster’ will be released nationwide in China through Wowdati, which owns screens across the country. Along with this, the fifth series of Mini Force, ‘Mini Force V Rangers,’ is preparing to launch in the Chinese market in 2023, and a special effects production featuring Mini Force Rangers will also be broadcast through new media platforms and IPTV.

Kim Suhoon, CEO of SAMG, said, “Achieving 180 billion KRW in sales through a single domestic kids IP in the Chinese market is a very exceptional record. Especially during the past few years when content business by Korean companies was difficult, this valuable result was achieved through the synergy of our IP competitiveness and local business strategy amid the local Chinese situation.” He added, “After the lifting of the Hanhanryeong, we will enhance the competitiveness of our IP library and achieve high sales by introducing new business models in various fields such as animation, toys, F&B, fashion, and space business.”

Meanwhile, the Mini Force series continues to maintain its position as a top-tier robot IP in China, surpassing 28.8 billion cumulative views on Chinese new media. Last year, it was selected as one of the ‘China TOP 10 Licenses’ by the US market research firm NPD Group, alongside prominent global IPs such as Harry Potter and Frozen.