"The word "Ra'ib" has become a hot topic of discussion, with some people joking that the World Cup mascot is a ravioli skin and others declaring that they "don't want to communicate with people who don't have Ra'ib". On social media, videos of Ra'ib's peripheral products have led to a frenzy, with comments such as, "Wrapped in a scarf, you're a global billionaire" and "Middle Eastern swagger".
What is less well known, however, is that as early as 2013, the intellectual property rights for the World Cup mascot and its peripherals were licensed to a Chinese company, which began selling them globally. This is the same company that licenses the World Cup peripherals, mascot and otherwise, that consumers buy in China.
"There may not be enough inventory this year." Ni Jing, vice chairman of Hangzhou Fude Brand Management Co. predicts so conservatively. This company started from foreign trade, and now it has been authorized by FIFA to not only produce mascots, but also expand more than 100 SKU categories. This year, Hangzhou Fude's production scale is much larger than before.
Ni Jing revealed that the sales of the current World Cup peripheral products far exceeded expectations. in August, Hangzhou Fude's products were on line at Tmall, Jingdong, 1688, Shake, etc. Although the World Cup has not yet opened, the products have been quite popular. In the official flagship store of Jitterbug, a handmade product of Laib priced at 299 yuan sold nearly 10,000 yuan, and the daily sales amounted to 15-20 million yuan.
The rise of Hangzhou Fude began with its transformation attempt. Formerly a foreign trade company, the company mainly exported household gifts and toys. Through the introduction of cooperative customers, the company began to get involved in the OEM production of famous IP. 2013, the company reached an agreement with FIFA, becoming the first Chinese enterprise authorized by FIFA.
In June 2013, Ni Jing and Li Hong went to Hong Kong to negotiate with FIFA and what was expected to be a difficult process went unexpectedly smoothly. in July 2013, Hangzhou Ford was formally established and a license agreement was signed.
According to the agreement, Hangzhou Ford not only owns the right to design, produce and sell the peripheral products, but also owns the global distribution right except Brazil. After obtaining the authorization for the World Cup in Brazil, the company quickly received requests for cooperation from more than 20 countries and nearly 70 companies around the world.
However, in the domestic market, sales are not smooth due to the lack of resources and channels. Consumers' awareness of World Cup peripheral products is low, and counterfeit products flood the market. Hangzhou Ford now operates a number of sports IPs and has won national technical IP licenses for China's lunar and Mars exploration projects.
Hangzhou Ford began to try to sell World Cup peripheral products through live broadcasting.CEO Guo Zhihao said that IP licensing is not a simple business of following the trend, but requires heavy asset investment, testing the company's control of the supply chain and marketing ability.
