Cartoon icons and characters are no longer confined to TV screens or printed pages. They show up on all types of everyday accessories or appliances, adding fun to otherwise normal and even dull-looking items such as cups, bags or mirrors. Manufacturers have been making use of outstanding character icons to achieve sales success in gifts and premium outlets. Hong Kong’s One O One International Limited is moving from strength to strength to construct its own character business across the world.

The story of One O One began in the early 90s when the company was first established as an import/export business targeting the local market. William Tse, chairman of One O One recalled, “The company began as ‘One O One Trading Company’ in 1994. At that time, we focused only on buying and selling goods in Hong Kong. In 1996, we decided to launch our own polyresin photo-frame manufacturing venture in our factory in China. Even back then, 99% of our merchandises were already ‘ODM’ products with original designs. Today, over 95% of our items are ODM products.”

“By 1999, we had established distribution channels in over 40 countries. As a manufacturer with a strong design background, we went straight to develop our own brands and products. Later on, we were granted as an authorised licensee of ‘Happy House’ from Australia. Under the slogan of ‘Colourful and fun’, the brand became our first successful character line.”

“In 2004, we introduced ‘Magic Spells’ from the UK with the first introduction of desk top merchandises and bags to the world. At the beginning of 2005, we introduced ‘Smiley’ from the UK, a classical icon series which has been well-known for over 30 years.”

“Other than introducing popular overseas brands, we had also developed our own brands: ‘Heart to Heart’, Tiger Bear, Be Mine, Love Angel & Hell Boy... We will continue to strengthen our product range in the long run.”

To effectively promote products under a character icon, One O One emphasises overall brand building with business partners instead of negotiating solely on product basis. William Tse explained, “Our business model is a full-service package that includes design, production, distribution and marketing. We position ourselves as brand promotion rather than product manufacturer.”

Today, One O One’s product lines encompass a wide range of different categories, from desktop accessories such as photo frames, to all types of bags like school bags and casual bags. Other product lines further include fashion accessories, watches, jewelry, umbrellas and key chains. To complete the choices, One O One has also developed plush, for example dolls and fun cushions.

In order to protect and preserve the hard-earned popularity of the icons, One O One takes all business partnerships seriously. William Tse remarked, “Our mission is to turn out the best quality premium gifts which carry a high yield. So we are keen to find partners that have solid experience in building up distribution channels and brand management. We, One O One and our partners need to come up with a full commonality in objectives to build up a whole product line together. They will play the role of distributors in their local markets and also demonstrate the passion and confidence to do so.”

To work out a sound business between partners and customers, William Tse tells that One O One will take into consideration a host of key but relevant factors which help foster the best deals with the interested parties. “We look at the order quantities as well as the retail price. For partners coming from economically less-developed countries, we are willing to provide as much support as possible so as to have a win-win outcome from both ends.”

After more than 10 years of development, One O One has successfully established a solid marketing network that covers much of Europe, Asia and the Middle East. The company’s major lines have been firmly rooted in these markets. William Tse elaborated, “The ‘Happy House’ is a colourful series popular with young kids, while ‘Heart to Heart’ is found more popular in Europe. We have also recently introduced the ‘Magic-Spells’, a wizard/magic character series which features funny spell-related contents.”

Apart from differentiation on characters, the markets are also distinguished along age and cultural lines. “In Southeast Asia, the same character products are welcomed by consumers of wider age groups, from kids to young adults aged 20 or higher, especially young female office ladies. But in other markets such as the European continent, the same product line is well-received among kids of 10-15 years old. Therefore, you can see that cultural differences somehow dictate the popularity of a certain product or series,” said William Tse.

In recent months, One O One is starting to look at the US market and the mainland China. However, William Tse conceded that the U.S. market is a whole new ball game to them. “Unlike the typical European buyers, Americans focus more on the price. We need to do thorough research before we can really find out a ‘workable’ business model there. At the moment, we are enriching the knowledge of the U.S. market by attending trade shows there and exchanging market intelligence with other companies in the same trade. Besides looking at new markets, we are also exploring new license opportunity.”

Even with the best equipment and talents, the number one problem in the gift industry - counterfeiting - also plagues One O One. To deal with the problem, William Tse takes the proactive approach: To race ahead of the counterfeiting parties by rolling out new products faster. He explained, “Counterfeiting is a common ‘enemy’ to all gift industry players alike. We work closely with our partners around the world to combat the issue. Obviously, it is almost impossible to stamp out all counterfeiting activities at once. We instead accelerate our product launching cycle. At this moment, we manage to launch new products every three months so as to keep hold the enthusiasm of our customers, while at the same time leaving all the copycats in the dust with our launching speed.”

To sum up the company’s strength, William Tse takes great pride in the company’s ability to promptly conceptualise and roll out high-quality gift items. He said, “We have rich expertise and experience in working out our own designs. Moreover, we are strong in building up brand through marketing a whole portfolio of products. We shall continue to work closely with our business partners to find the best business models that fit most in their local cultures to achieve win-win deals.”

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