At 10 p.m. on February 10, LINE FRIENDS' last store in Chinese mainland Market, Chengdu, will close.
The first financial reporter learned that the above-mentioned measures to close stores are the overall strategic adjustment needs of the company from 2020. Due to the changes in consumption habits brought about by the development of new consumerism in recent years, LINE FRIENDS has made a move to shift the focus of retail to online.
In order to further create a diversified interactive scene, LINE FRIENDS will carry out offline experience spaces of multiple formats such as theme hotels, restaurants, small retail stores, and unmanned retail offline, providing fans with diversified interactive experiences such as theme exhibitions, pop-ups, and parties.
In 2011, LINE FRIENDS officially met the public as a mobile phone chat tool "LINE" meme cartoon image.
Since 2016, Line Friends has continued to expand its offline footprint, and by 2018, the company opened a total of 42 flagship stores in China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand. For example, in 2018, Line Friends, the world's largest store area, opened in Hangzhou Yintai in 77, Zhejiang.
According to the Northeast Securities Research Report, relying on the comprehensive play of Line Friends online and offline, the company's revenue in 2018 reached 177 million US dollars, an increase of 59.19% year-on-year. However, in 2019, the company maintained the original strategy, insufficient product innovation, offline exposure decreased, AND IP popularity decreased, resulting in a 2% decline in revenue that year, and 25 physical stores in Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and other 25 physical stores closed due to poor management.
The root cause of Line Friends's rapid popularity and disappearance lies in the lack of innovation and fan interaction in IP operations.
LINE FRIENDS has long been creating IP with light content, but how to emotionally connect with users for a long time with emoji IP, and then maintain vitality, is a big test for the traffic operation and innovation ability of such IP, and content has become an important starting point.
At the content level, on the one hand, the company reaches different groups of people through rich and diverse content, so as to enhance the emotional link with people on different platforms; on the other hand, it continues to take root in the Chinese market through short videos in a strong platform and in multiple forms.
As a creative studio, LINE FRIENDS is no longer limited to the existing retail field, and is working with global partners such as Netflix, Tencent, big Hit to launch various media and entertainment content, gradually expanding the possibilities of cartoon image IP.
According to the data provided by LINE FRIENDS, in 2021, the company's overall business in the Chinese market achieved profitable growth, official flagship store sales increased by 30% year-on-year, and licensing business revenue increased by 20% year-on-year.
With the rise of China's economy, the disposable income of Chinese residents has continued to grow over the past decade. The increase in per capita disposable income has brought about significant changes in consumption patterns. At present, Chinese consumers are becoming more and more concerned about product quality and the emotional satisfaction it brings. The interest characteristics of Generation Z and the sense of belonging in the circle make it easier to pay for the spiritual needs such as hobbies and hobbies, and it is an excellent target group for "grass shopping", beauty economy and IP consumption, which has greatly driven the consumption growth of the tide play market.
According to the Frost & Sullivan report, the market size of China's trendy toy retail increased from 6.3 billion yuan in 2015 to 20.7 billion yuan in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 34.6%, accounting for about 15% of the global tide play market. Driven by the rising popularity of Trendy Toys in China, the retail market size of Trendy Toys is expected to reach 76.3 billion yuan in 2024.