Funko exec embraces competition vs Labubu, other brands after opening 1st SEA store
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines is an ideal setting for collectibles, said a Funko executive, after the American toy company opened its first Southeast Asian store in the country.
Funko sells collectibles of nearly a thousand licensed brands across the pop culture stream, from Disney and anime to blockbuster films and fan-favorite series.
These collectibles range from the iconic Funko Pop! line, its miniature version the Bitty Pop!, games, plushies, apparel and action figures.
The store located in Mall of Asia marks the company cementing its place in the Southeast Asian market, particularly the Philippines, which dominates sales in the entire region.
Andy Clempson, Vice President of Sales for Funko Asia-Pacific, cited numbers from a global data company that generally tracks the traditional toy industry which found Funko fairs well in the Philippines against big brands like Hasbro, Mattel and Lego.
"But more progressively, as the development of the collectible market in particular has come to fruition, they're then drilling down into some other specific subcategories," Clempson told Philstar.com in an exclusive interview during a sneak peek of the store.
The executive said such data allows the company to track and understand its current base now and set new targets, reiterating his belief that Funko is reallly strong in the Philippines.
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While Funko has maintained a strong presence since debuting its Pop! line in 2010, steadily growing in popularity are the plush monster Labubu dolls by Chinese toy company Pop Mart.
Clempson is very much aware about the rise of Labubu globally but simply reverted to the cliché belief that "all competition is good competition."
He acknowledged there is a commercial competition with Pop Mart but pointed out both companies are also competing for people's emotional connections.
"My personal opinion, and it has always been from day one about the Pop Mart development in particular," Clempson shared, "Is that all of this is great because the marketing, the noise, the social media activations around all of this has created a lot of positive noise around the world."
"Anything that's driving interest and awareness, whether you're seeing it online or you're seeing it on the TV, on the news, it's all good stuff. It's all good, as far as I'm concerned, at Funko," he also said, adding that there is room for development for everyone.
Coincidentally the Funko store is located a few steps away from Pop Mart's first Philippine store which opened last year, which Clempson and his team knew about but wasn't a deciding factor in selecting a location.
Rather the decision was centered on Mall of Asia being one of the biggest malls in the country with huge foot traffic, particularly in the Entertainment Mall section where similar establishments are found.
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"We spent a lot of time focusing more on that, and then worrying where the competition were going to be.That's the honest answer," Clempson smiled.
Philstar.com also asked Clempson what the presence of a Funko flagship store meant for other retail stores who have been selling Funko products for years.
"The real purpose of [the store] is it's a marketing tool, and it's about demand creation and awareness," Clempson said. "So our hope is the fact that this actually helps everyone get an increasing share of the cap."
Clempson explained that by driving more noise awareness to existing and incoming fans, it will create additional generation of interest.
An example of this is if a store doesn't have the Funko they are looking for, they can opt to look in another store that lists and distributes Funko products.
"It's not about a competition, it's actually about a marketing tool to help generate even more awareness of the Funko brand," Clempson ended.
The Funko store in Mall of Asia will be open to the public beginning July 12.
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