The Indian licensing industry saw the first Doraemon Licensee Expo hosted at The Lalit, Mumbai on August 3. With an array of products ranging from chocolates to watches, plush toys, to feeding bottles, Doraemon is a popular toon companion for kids.
The evening commenced with the lighting the lamp in the presence of the Doraemon brand principals — Hiroshi Kondo (Chairman Animation International Group), Tikamitsu Kayahara (International Business Head Animation International Group), Tim Kondo (GM Animation International Group), Aki Gotanda and Nitin Kalra (Animation International India Director).
With over 150 people gracing the event, pan India trade partners such as Disney, Amazon Prime, Titan and D’décor among others were greeted with a soulful jugalbandi (duet) performance of Guitar and Flute playing the Doraemon theme song.
The highlight of the evening was when small kids hit the ramp displaying licensed Doraemon products by enacting “A Day in a Child’s Life”, which gathered maximum accolades.
The evening progressed with Nitin Kalra and Tikamitsu Kayahara appreciating and giving away trophies to their valued partners for their contribution towards the brand Doraemon. Finally, the show-stopper act of the evening took center stage when Doraemon along with his friends performed on stage practically bringing the episodical toon to reality. The event was followed by dinner and drinks.
Doraemon was first aired on Disney in 2005 and is currently the number one cartoon character in India for kids in the age group of 4 to 14-years. In the last couple of years, Disney has released over 23 Doraemon movies on their channel each of which has been a blockbuster. Doraemon partnered with Amazon Prime and was first aired on Prime in 2016 and continues to be a popular show.
