Avengers franchise growing exponentially: Disney India

Disney India's consumer products unit has signed up with bevy of brand to promote Avengers: Age of Ultron, which is considered the highest ever for any film – Hollywood or Bollywood - released in India. Some of the prominent brand partners include Amazon, Myntra, Subway, Liberty Shoes, Kinder Joy, Hamleys, and Mountain Dew among others. Disney India VP and Head for Consumer Products (licensing and merchandising arm), Abhishek Maheshwari shared about the responses received from Avengers merchandise and the brand association around this Superhero movie. How is the response regarding the Avengers merchandise? Post the success of the first movie – The Avengers, the popularity of the franchise has grown exponentially over the years in the country amongst kids and adults alike. Each of the sequels has done better than the previous movies. For example, The Avengers (2012) had a box office collection of INR 55 crores in India, Avengers: Age of Ultron has had a tremendous jump with INR 76 crore (as of 18 May 2015) already at the box office and it continues to enthrall audiences in the country. The growing affinity towards the Avengers is truly remarkable and we are extremely thrilled with the response for the products that we have received across categories. What has been the total turnover from the Avengers merchandise? As mentioned, the growing affinity towards the Avengers is very encouraging and it shows with the demand for its products across categories and age groups. We have ensured a robust distribution of all the products in retail and e-commerce to make the products available to our consumers when and where they want it. Having tied-up with over 50 brands, there are more than 1000 SKUs available to choose from. We evaluate the success of our merchandise in terms of retail sales value achieved and with Avengers we expect the numbers to be more than INR 100 crore. How many deals have been done around this movie and what other deals are in pipeline? We have got over 50 brands on board for The Avengers: Age of Ultron; the highest for any Hollywood or Bollywood movie in India. Ferrero Rocher's Kinder Joy, Funskool, Liberty Footwear, Mountain Dew, Subway, Hero Cycles, Tupperware, Hamleys, e-tailer Amazon.in are some of the brands that we have tied up with. We have been able to offer products across categories like Toys, Fashion, Consumer Electronics, Stationery, Publishing, Home and more, catering to a wide spectrum of age group; right from kids to adults. These brand associations are not just a marketing tool but a long term franchise strategy which takes our fans closer to their favourite characters and their stories. What is generating more revenue - apparels or devices like power-bank and pen-drive? As a company policy, we won’t be able to divulge into revenues. In the Apparel category, the trend of character tees has risen over the last couple of years and Marvel Super Heroes form a big part of it. Similarly, fans love to collect figurines and there is a high demand for toys amongst kids. Kids and Adults both love their accessories which allow them to flaunt their attitude. Be it an Avengers inspired backpack, pen drives or even school supplies, having your favourite Super Hero on products has seen a huge surge. What are the top 3 characters ruling the Super Hero merchandise? Every Marvel Super Hero is unique in their own way and possesses different powers, characteristics etc. It will be difficult to choose the top three Super Heroes but having said that, Spider-Man and the Avengers – Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America, Thor are very popular amongst kids and adults alike and thus their products are in high-demand all year round.