Following the broadcast launch of Entertainment One’s (eOne) global preschool phenomenon Peppa Pig in Japan last October, the licensor on Tuesday (March 27) shares details of the property’s merchandise launch that will be kicked off with an exclusive retail event.
eOne and its master licensee in Japan, Sega Toys, are gearing up for the launch of Peppa Pig product SKUS at an exclusive “Peppa Pig Goes to London” themed pop-up store this spring.
Running from March 28 to April 3, 2018 at Takashimaya, Shinjuku department store in Tokyo, the pop-up will draw on the property’s British heritage with décor and styling inspired by the “Peppa Goes to London” story book. Inside the store there will be over 100 product SKUs available from 23 licensing partners, spanning categories including toys, publishing, novelty, homewares, home entertainment and stationery.
eOne’s Ami Dieckman, SVP International Licensing, Family & Brands said, “The response to Peppa Pig in Japan has mirrored the brand’s success throughout Asia and we’re seeing the demand for merchandise build rapidly. As the property’s British heritage is clearly striking a chord with fans in the market, it seems fitting to celebrate the Peppa Pig consumer products launch with a London themed retail event that will give families a unique opportunitiy to engage with the property, while also demonstrating the brand’s tremendous potential to licensees and retailers across the country.”
To support the pop-up, Takashimaya will also host special Peppa Pig screenings between March 28 to April 10. Alongside selected fan-favourite episodes, an exclusive original episode will be shown that will give families the opportunity to watch Peppa and friends enjoying cherry blossom, to coincide with Japan’s traditional cherry blossom season. There will also be English language workships for young visitors to enjoy and reading sessions of Peppa Pig books in Japanese.
An opening ceremony will be held on March 28 to celebrate the start of the activity at Takashimaya.
The event will be attended by the British Ambassador to Japan, Paul Madden CMG, along with the Japanese Peppa and George Pig voice actors.
Following this retail event, Peppa Pig merchandise will launch nationwide at Toys ‘R’ Us stores in June.
The multi-award winning animated show premiered on TV screens in Japan last October on TV Tokyo. The series also launched on cable channel Disney Junior in January 2018 and following strong viewing figures, Peppa Pig will get a new time slot from March 27 that will see it reach more households. Alongside this, Japanese Home Entertainment distributor Nippon Columbia will introduce the first Peppa Pig DVD ‘Muddy Puddles’ into the market from March 28.
