What a sensation.Kumamon — Kumamoto Prefecture's official mascot — is surely the hottest yuru-chara in Japan right now. Everyone would agree. Lately, what really catches the eye is the economic impact. The Mainichi Newspapers ran a story headlined "Kumamon — Last Year's Sales Top ¥29.3 Billion, More Than 11 Times the Previous Year" in the February 21 morning edition, Western edition (Kyushu & Yamaguchi)= photo: goods corner at Kumamoto Prefectural Government.
According to the article, licensing agreements had exceeded 8,200 as of the end of January, still growing at about 400 per month. Products using Kumamon reached at least ¥29.3 billion in sales for 2012 — more than 11 times the previous year's ¥2.556 billion (based on responses from 1,172 of 2,112 companies surveyed nationwide, a 55% response rate). Breakdown: food ¥24.641 billion ▽ goods such as straps ¥2.669 billion ▽ apparel ¥410 million ▽ books ¥207 million, and more.
Since then, stories about Kumamon have not let up — if anything, they have escalated. I searched "Kumamon" in The Mainichi Newspapers database. Excluding regional editions and counting national editions only, from the first article on September 18, 2010 through June 14, there were 78 pieces: 4 in 2010, 16 in 2011, 34 in 2012, and already 23 this year. Winning the Yuru-chara Grand Prix 2011 clearly sparked the breakout.
Scanning recent headlines beyond The Mainichi Newspapers — ▽ Ezaki Glico launched "Milk Cocoa Pocky" nationwide from March 12 with Kumamon on the box ▽ Germany's Steiff sold a limited run of 1,500 premium Kumamon teddy bears (¥29,400) online on May 12 — sold out in five seconds ▽ Japan Airlines serves in-flight meals using Kumamoto local cuisine, "AIR Kumamon", on European and North American routes in premium economy and economy from June 1 ▽ Nakabayashi released notebooks and files featuring Kumamon designs nationwide from mid-June ▽ The ferry Sunflower linking Oita and Kobe offers cabins with Kumamon-themed interiors — pillowcases, curtains, and more... It just keeps coming.
A major reason cited for the big breakout is that Kumamoto Prefecture charges no character licensing fee for Kumamon. In his Mainichi Newspapers Tokyo edition column "Fushiana kara Sekken" (April 12), Shinosuke Tachikawa noted that with prefectural approval, Kumamon can be used free of charge: "Along with the character's cuteness, this loose regulation is surely what drove fans across Japan."
Among other local mascots, Hikonyan of Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, began charging for trademark use on goods sales in 2010, with 2012 revenue of ¥24.9 million. Chiba Prefecture's Chiba-kun takes a 3% design licensing fee on sales — about ¥4.8 million in fiscal 2011 and about ¥8.2 million in fiscal 2012. Working backward, underlying goods sales for both are probably only a few hundred million yen at most. By the way, a 1% fee on Kumamon related sales of "¥29.3 billion in 2012" would come to about ¥300 million. I wonder whether Kumamoto Prefecture's budget staff feel any regret... Not that it's any of my business. Sorry (*´∀｀)