The licensing agreement was celebrated at a party in Cologne during Kind + Jugend, with the participation of managers of the brands distributed in China by the Guangzhou company.

During the 2015 Kind + Jugend fair in Cologne, the Chinese company Little Star invited representatives of the baby care products and children’s fashion business and of the specialist media to attend the announcement and signing ceremony of the licensing agreement with the Succession of Le Petit Prince brand.

The Little Star Brands Group, based in Guangzhou (Canton), Guangdong province, is an important distributor in China, present in 95% of the premium department stores and shopping malls in over 90% of the first and second tier Chinese cities; it also controls 500 self-operated stores and 700 franchised stores. Little Star deals with its own and distributed international brands in the baby care products business (Yeehoo, Silver Cross, Stokke, 4 Moms, Cam, Boori, Träumeland, P’tit Lit, Babylonia, Philips Avent, BabyNes), in toys (Käthe Kruse, Hape, Wohnstuecke) and in children’s clothing (Peekaboo, I Pinco Pallino, Vilebrequin).

Le Petit Prince – The Little Prince – is the famous book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry published in 1943; constantly popular, in the last few years the character has become very attractive for the licensing business thanks to a cartoon series for television and an animated feature film directed by Mark Osborne whose release dates worldwide span from July 29th, 2015, to March 2016.

The Cologne event was opened by Feng Gao, CEO of the Little Star Brand Group, Founder of the Little Star Children Growth Foundation and Vice President of the China Toy & Juvenile Products Association (CTJPA), who said: “In China, the children business is growing very fast. We see the potential and we deal with several international brands addressing middle-class families with 0-15-year-old kids. The Little Prince is the first license acquired by Little Star; we will apply it to products for babies and kids starting with a Peekaboo clothing collection and will support it with our diversified retail experience and professional management”.

A few words about the Chinese baby products market were added by May Liang, CTJPA President: “In China there is big potential but we are at the very early stages. Since the market is highly decentralized, distribution is still hard to handle. Furthermore, the consumers have no experience and do not know which products are the best. Foreign companies need good partners in order to do business in China”.

“We have found a good friend in China, Feng Gao”, said Olivier D’Argay, Le Petit Prince brand manager. “He cares about values and through the Little Star Children Growth Foundation promotes non-profit charities such as parenting, children education, and environmental protection. Beyond the licensing project, there will be joint charity activities together with the Saint-Exupéry Foundation”.

Following a stage show introducing baby care products distributed by Little Star (including Silver Cross and Cam strollers) and the new The Little Prince fashion collection, managers of some of the companies represented in China by Little Star talked about the connection and shared values with the Guangzhou company: among them, Peter Handstein (Hape), Damon Claus (4 Moms), Martin Breuvart (P’tit Lit).

 

Author: Daniele Caroli

Editor-in-chief of Il Giornale dell’Infanzia, BCMI member magazine

 

Le Petit Prince collection by Peekaboo on stage.

Le Petit Prince collection by Peekaboo on stage.

From left: Feng Gao, Little Star; May Liang, CTJPA; Olivier D’Agay, Le Petit Prince; Cameron Bai, President of Robb Report, China.

From left: Feng Gao, Little Star; May Liang, CTJPA; Olivier D’Agay, Le Petit Prince; Cameron Bai, President of Robb Report, China.

Le Petit Prince clothing collection at the Little Star standbooth, China Kids Expo, October 2015.

Le Petit Prince clothing collection at the Little Star standbooth, China Kids Expo, October 2015.