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Kocca Cream Store Expands Beyond Toys "R" Us to Megabox
A Lifeline for Small Content Companies Facing Distribution, Sales, and Promotion Challenges
Highly Effective from Promotion to Customer Feedback

There are Cream flagship stores at Toys "R" Us Jamsil, Eunpyeong, and Gimpo Airport. These stores sell about 300 character products from twenty-three small and medium-sized content companies. The characters include Dongle, Tinish Friends, Merong Hatchi, Tango and Nureong, Dowdow, Woongkeun Cactus, Kkodeungeo, Frenju, Gogo Band, Annyeong Jaduya, Ttukttak Rescue Team, Kkujil Kkujil Kkuver, Anirules, Potendog, Babi Boni, and Dogikogi. Companies owning intellectual property (IP) all faced difficulties in distribution, sales, and promotion due to the spread of COVID-19. With financial burdens and high entry barriers making it difficult to open pop-up stores, even fairs like the Character Licensing Fair were shut down. They often encountered limitations in securing online distribution channels as well.

The Cream Store, established by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), serves as a lifeline. It not only promotes product sales and content through commercial area analysis but also hosts various events. By managing personnel, customers, and participating companies both online and offline, it minimizes difficulties in distribution, sales, and promotion. The commission fees are lower than those of regular stores, reducing the burden. The flagship Toys "R" Us store features products for children under 13, displayed charmingly to suit the nature of a children's toy store. The booths are decorated in pastel tones, attracting the attention of young children and their parents visiting Lotte Mart or Toys "R" Us. Noh Hyemin, a junior officer in KOCCA's Animation Character Industry Team, explained, "Within a 5 km radius of Toys "R" Us Jamsil, Eunpyeong, and Gimpo Airport, there are 32,449, 21,873, and 23,396 children aged 3 to 9, respectively. The daily floating population at these hubs reaches 220,000, 120,000, and 100,000."

The target audience is now expanding to the MZ generation. Today (the 13th), a new type of Cream Store opens at Megabox Hanam Spa Field. Unlike the existing shop-in-shop format, this is a flagship store focused on genre-specialized IP exhibitions. Under the concept of "A Sweet Journey to the World," it offers not only product sales but also diverse content brand experiences. It is designed as a character shop where character brand awareness can be expanded and tested. Sales staff also serve as docents, informing consumers about the character's universe and production stories, and collecting feedback on characters and products to relay to content companies. Noh said, "The store's nature is more about character promotion than product sales," adding, "Sales staff will explain the history and features of the twenty-three characters to engage customers intimately." She continued, "Consumer opinions collected through surveys will be regularly provided to content companies, enabling the store to function as a character IP distribution test bed?a system or environment where the performance and effects of new products and services can be tested."

The collaboration between KOCCA and Megabox goes beyond utilizing multiplex spaces. They also plan and develop theater demand-tailored content using content IP. Participating as mentors in the IP Licensing Build-up project, they provide mentoring and consulting for three months, supporting content and prototype production and promotion. Companies can apply at KOCCA until the 18th. Jung Kyungmi, acting director of KOCCA, stated, "For the sustainable growth of the K-character industry, the discovery and growth of small and medium-sized content companies' character IP must be supported," adding, "We will strive to connect them with large corporations and establish exemplary fair-win cooperation models."

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