Agreement will see retail outlets open in territory as TSBA’s licensing push continues.
The British Museum and its licensing agent TSBA Group has topped off what has been a strong 2016 with a major deal that takes the brand into China.
Since TSBA came on board with the museum – in December 2015 – the licensing programme has grown significantly with licensees including the likes of Michael O’Mara for stationery, fabric specialist Arley House, The Moorland Rug Company and Portfolio for greeting cards signing up.
In June, British Museum made a successful debut at Licensing Expo, where it was named ‘One to Watch’ by License Global.
Now, Alibaba’s online licensing platform – Alifish – has been named as the British Museum’s e-retailing and merchandise licence partner in China.
The partnership will see a range of British Museum licensed products made available to consumers in China in a British Museum-branded online store on Alibaba’s online marketplace Tmall.com.
In addition, bricks and mortar stores will also be rolled out in the territory by Alfilo Brands, a licensee of British Museum in China.
Commenting on the landmark deal, Craig Bendle, manager of merchandise licensing for the British Museum, said: “The British Museum is a museum of the world, for the world and this programme provides a unique opportunity to share the museum through both online and physical store activities.
“We are very excited to be showcasing details from the British Museum’s collection exclusively in China on the Alifish licensing platform and to see the establishment of a range of British Museum stores across China, filled with attractive, quality products inspired by objects from the museum’s collection.”
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