It’s all about intellectual property today as we speak to the Asian subsidiary of Japan’s leading entertainment conglomerate Avex Group.

If you’ve been a J-pop fan, you might recall Avex starting out as a wholesaler of imported music records in 1988.

The company has now expanded into diverse business areas such as record labels, live music performances, animation and filmmaking. It also manages music artists such as pop icon Ayumi Hamazaki.

Back to Avex Asia, the subsidiary specialises in brand licensing, artiste management, live events and concerts, anime production, content creation and digital streaming in the region.

It represents some of the world’s top intellectual properties including Pokemon, Rilakkuma, Sumikko Gurashi, Sonic The Hedgehog, Hello Kitty, forming collaborations across broadcasting, consumer products, marketing promotions as well as location-based entertainment.

Now, Avex Asia’s licensing business is one that we want to focus on today, given how Asia is said to contribute over 30 per cent of all franchised businesses worldwide.

But why is Asia a hotspot for franchised business, and what are the trends shaping the franchising and licensing landscape in the region? How is Avex Asia tapping into these trends, and what intellectual properties does Avex Asia want to procure to better serve consumers in the region?

Speaking of acquiring IPs, Avex Asia recently expanded its portfolio to include sports licensing of Spanish Football giant, FC Barcelona for Southeast Asia and Japan. But why did the firm choose to enter into sports licensing and what are the opportunities it sees in sports licensing?

On Under the Radar, Money Matters’ finance presenter Chua Tian Tian posed these questions to Edmund Low, General Manager, Avex Asia.

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