Well-Nurtured Characters as Sales Drivers, Distribution Industry Fostering Character Development

Shinsegae Food's 'J.Lila' Characterization of Vice Chairman Jeong Yong-jin
HiteJinro's 'Dokkaebi' Hits Big, Various Collaboration Products Sold Out

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Hye-seon] The distribution industry is focusing on ‘character development’ to break away from traditional distribution businesses. Just as Kakao and Naver are expanding their business domains comprehensively through popular characters like ‘Kakao Friends’ and ‘LINE Friends,’ the influence of characters on future new businesses has grown significantly. Distribution companies that initially promoted their brands by adding storytelling to characters or using retro characters that were popular decades ago are now expanding their business areas into content companies that directly commercialize characters.

“Dreaming of Becoming the Next Ryan Executive”

According to Shinsegae Group on the 12th, Shinsegae Food, Shinsegae Duty Free, and SSG.com each unveiled brand characters and entered the character business. Their goal is to commercialize the characters themselves, like Kakao Friends and LINE Friends, rather than just using characters in their affiliate businesses. They plan to introduce additional characters based on their own unique universes.

Shinsegae Food’s ‘Jayrilla’ shares a similar origin story with Kakao Friends’ ‘Ryan Executive,’ who was a successor to the throne of Africa’s Dongdong Island but escaped in pursuit of a free life. Jayrilla, a gorilla, loves cooking and baseball and dreams of life on Earth, having left his hometown Mars. Just as Ryan is known to be a character based on Kim Beom-su, Chairman of Kakao, Jayrilla evokes Shin Yong-jin, Vice Chairman of Shinsegae Group. Shinsegae Food plans to increase consumer awareness through emoticons and goods, then utilize the character across various business areas.

Shinsegae Duty Free also introduced a brand character named ‘Simsatgat.’ Simsatgat is a fictional character who time-slipped from the Joseon Dynasty, and the name uses the initials of Shinsegae Duty Free (ㅅㅅㄱㅁㅅㅈ). Simsatgat, a wealthy merchant (巨商) from the Joseon era, accidentally time-slipped and then got a job as a promotional manager at Shinsegae Duty Free. SSG.com also created ‘Obanjang,’ a persona given the roles of ‘Shopping Squad Leader’ and ‘Discount Supervisor.’

Jinro’s Big Hit with the Toad

Some companies have hit the jackpot with retro characters. HiteJinro’s ‘Toad’ character is the star. Various goods and collaboration products featuring the Toad character have been selling out continuously. Last year, fashion products released in collaboration with the casual fashion brand ‘Covernat’ sold out in one minute. Home soju and beer glasses, Toad slippers, and figures, which were launched together with 11st, also sold out quickly. Due to high consumer response, HiteJinro even opened ‘Dukkeop Sanghoe,’ a store selling the ‘Toad’ character.

Binggrae’s ‘Binggraeus The Massis Gym (Binggraeus)’ is a representative case of successfully turning a universe into content. In February last year, Binggrae launched the webtoon ‘Binggrae Maker’ on its official Instagram. Binggraeus, reminiscent of a prince in a romance comic, introduces himself as the heir to the throne of the Binggrae kingdom and openly promotes the company’s products by saying, “I must reach the target number of Instagram followers to ascend the throne.” Binggrae’s SNS followers have surpassed 150,000.

MZ Generation Enthralled by Characters

The reason distribution companies are focusing on the character business is that the MZ generation (a combination of Millennials and Generation Z, born between 1981 and the 2000s) has become the central axis of consumption. The MZ generation shows a tendency to be interested in and enthusiastic about characters with unique personal narratives. Character recognition translates into sales growth. For example, Binggrae’s consolidated sales last year reached 959.1 billion KRW, a 9% increase from the previous year (878.3 billion KRW). Despite the COVID-19 situation, HiteJinro’s Dukkeop Sanghoe has attracted over 10,000 cumulative visitors and is expanding its branches nationwide. Convenience stores are also receiving numerous collaboration requests.

The character industry market is also growing. According to the Korea Creative Content Agency, the domestic character industry market size was 12.207 trillion KRW as of 2018. It has grown at an average annual rate of 7.8% since 2014 (9.0527 trillion KRW). This year, it is expected to exceed 20 trillion KRW.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.