China's growing first-store economy is creating new opportunities for celebrity intellectual property companies to bring entertainment brands into physical retail, as Hong Kong-listed Star Plus Legend Holdings Ltd sees significant potential in the country's celebrity IP market and plans to step up investment in offline IP experiences.

"We are very optimistic about the huge celebrity IP market in China," said Franki Lai, executive director and CFO of Star Plus Legend. The company plans to leverage the development of China's first-store economy and accelerate its offline retail expansion through a "one city, one store" strategy, focusing on prime locations in major Chinese cities.

Shanghai has made the first-store economy a key part of its efforts to boost consumption and strengthen its position as an international consumption center. The city has introduced policies supporting high-level first stores, including global and Asian flagship stores, while its 2026 guidelines continue to provide financial support for eligible first stores and flagship stores.

Against this backdrop, Star Plus Legend opened the first global flagship store of Chouchou & Friends on Sept 23 on East Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Covering 570 square meters, the store is designed as an immersive fan experience space centered on celebrity IPs, including Chouchou, the anime-style IP character based on singer Jay Chou.

The store offers more than 300 products across seven categories, including collectible figures, blind boxes, plush toys, trendy accessories, home and lifestyle products and city-exclusive merchandise. Its design incorporates elements from Jay Chou's songs, turning music-related memories into a physical experience for fans.

Lai said the choice of East Nanjing Road was driven by Shanghai's position as a trendsetting consumer market and a gateway for international brands entering China and Chinese brands going global.

The Shanghai flagship store, which spans three floors and features extensive installations, required an investment of more than 10 million yuan ($1.5 million), while subsequent stores are expected to require about 2 million yuan to 3 million yuan each after the model is standardized.

For Star Plus Legend, the strategy represents a shift from primarily licensing IP products to creating direct, offline experiences. Over the past five to six years, the company has worked with more than 200 brand partners on licensed products, generating cumulative sales of more than 1.2 billion yuan, according to Lai.

Hou Wenjie, secretary-general of Shanghai-based Yu Ce Think Tank, said: "Celebrity IPs are selling more than merchandise — they are selling memories, a sense of identity and belonging, and the chance to be part of a community or experience worth sharing."

According to Licensing International, a global trade association for the brand licensing industry, China's IP licensing market grew from 91 billion yuan in 2020 to 126.2 billion yuan in 2024, underscoring the growing commercial potential of IP-driven consumer businesses.

Beyond celebrity IPs featuring real people, Star Plus Legend is also expanding into robotics. The company has formed a strategic partnership with Unitree Robotics, one of the earliest producers of quadruped robots in the world, to explore the "IP plus Robotics plus artificial intelligence" sector and develop consumer-grade robot products.

(Source: China Daily)