“Mom, Please Buy Me This”: The Character That Sparked Weekend “Open Runs” [Weekend Money]

SAMG Entertainment Delivers Surprise Q4 Earnings
The Enduring Power of TiniPing

Expectations for Growing Popularity Among Millennials & Gen Z
Overseas Expansion Poised to Scale Up Revenue

Once a character becomes popular, it starts making money. The power of “Tiniping,” which has captivated children, remains strong. Now that it is setting its sights on overseas markets as well, SAMG Entertainment is aiming for a full-scale scaling up.

In the fourth quarter of last year, SAMG Entertainment posted sales of 48.4 billion won and operating profit of 11.7 billion won, up 15.6% and 29.8%, respectively, from the same period a year earlier. This was a “surprise performance” that far exceeded the market consensus for operating profit, which had been only 9.9 billion won. It was also the best result since the company’s founding.

The company managed to scale up even though there was no “Catch! Tiniping” theatrical film, which had been a major driver of earnings in the same period a year earlier. This was the result of the seasonal peak effect being combined with strong sales of Season 6 “Legendping.” As the company entered a phase in which fixed costs do not increase significantly even when sales grow, the cost-of-goods-sold ratio came in at 48.8%, an improvement of as much as 9.9 percentage points from a year earlier. The company has also become more adept at inventory handling and distribution network management. By linking real-time sales data, it ensured sufficient supply of “Dynaping,” a popular character from “Catch! Tiniping” Season 6. This stands in contrast to the past stockout incident involving “Auroraping.”

The second theatrical installment of “Catch! Tiniping,” the film that previously drove earnings growth, is scheduled for release in the third quarter of this year. It is expected to fill the traditional off-season sales gap. The first installment, released in August 2024, attracted a cumulative 1.24 million moviegoers. As the character’s buzz grew afterward, collaborations with various major brands increased.

The competitiveness of the character’s IP (intellectual property) itself is also strengthening. Last year in China, sales of Metal Cardbot surpassed those of Tiniping. With region-specific IP strategies, the company plans to continue increasing overseas sales in markets such as North America.

It is also encouraging that Tiniping is attracting interest not only from children but also from Millennials & Gen Z. On December 24 last year, the first day of the opening of the offline permanent store “The Tiniping Seongsu,” an average of 700 people visited in a single day. Among them, visitors in their 20s accounted for as much as 21%. Hyunji Lee, a researcher at Eugene Investment & Securities, explained, “Last year, the focus was on raising awareness of the Tiniping IP, which had been confined to kids, among Millennials & Gen Z. This year, the company is entering a phase of full-scale monetization by expanding this now-famous IP globally.”

Exterior view of the offline store 'The Tiniping Seongsu' in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. SAMG Entertainment