The Hindu : New Delhi News : Disney characters offer kids a reason to rejoice... .

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Oct 12, 2006
ePaper

New Delhi

New Delhi

Disney characters offer kids a reason to rejoice... .

Madhur Tankha

RJ Corp to market Disney characters

NEW DELHI: Disney characters bring a smile across the countenances of little ones everywhere. Now children have another reason to rejoice as Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse and friends, Pooh and Jetix characters such as Power Rangers would soon find their way to a host of branded greeting cards, stationery, arts and crafts besides party products through speciality stores.

All this has been made possible with RJ Corp in India on Wednesday announcing that it has signed an exclusive master franchisee agreement with Disney Consumer Products (DCP) to source and market the Disney characters.

Selling Disney products

Under the Disney Artist brand, RJ Corp will sell a vast range of Disney social expression products, stationery products including writing and activity products, desktops and computing stationery aimed at the burgeoning children and youth category in the country.

RJ Corp has also signed an exclusive licensing agreement with DCP to source and market the arts and crafts merchandise in this category under the "Disney Artist" brand to the wider wholesale market in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives.

Stating that this was a significant milestone in RJ Corp's franchise-led business, Ravi Jaipuria, Chairman of RJ Corp, said: "Through Disney Artist, we will be able to expand our scope into the kids-led family business, taking advantage of the global brand of Disney as well as our established network in this fast growing market category. We are confident that Disney Artist will see our business connect with families in a whole new way that also synergises with our existing trade relationships in the kids' market segment."

Rajat Jain, Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company (India), said that Disney's franchise management approach looks at each of the characters or sets of characters or franchises and considers them businesses unto themselves. At their heart is creativity and world-class storytelling. Opportunities like Disney Artist stores are exciting because they create a branded experience to delight consumers in unique ways in India, he added.

"The RJ Corp relationship allows us to continue to deliver the high level of design and innovation that has made us a leader in consumer products for kids and families. We are happy that even more of Disney's great entertainment will be offered to Indian families and our richness of characters from Mickey Mouse and friends, Pooh and our popular Disney Princesses, to the current Jetix characters like Power Rangers will delight all," he added.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi