AS PART of its 80th anniversary celebrations worldwide, Marvel Entertainment partnered with SM malls to bring official Marvel merchandise and other consumer products to 70 of the mall chain’s locations.

The celebrations kicked off at SM North EDSA The Block Atrium with an exhibit that featured several Marvel Comics covers including the first issues of Spider-Man, Captain America, The Avengers, X-Men, and Fantastic Four, among others.

Marvel Comics was founded in 1939 in New York City originally as Timely Comics and then as Atlas Comics in 1951. In 1961, the Marvel era began with the release of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, among others. Known as the home of superheroes like Spider-Man, Iron Man, and Captain America, Marvel Comics eventually became an entertainment powerhouse, spawning the highly successful Marvel Cinematic Universe, and having its hands in numerous ventures including merchandise and video games. In 2009, Marvel Entertainment was acquired by the Walt Disney Company.

Filipino artists such as William “Whilce” Portacio who did work for series The Punisher, Iron Man, and Spawn; Adrian Alphona who worked on Runaways; Kim Jacinto who worked on Avengers and Venom: Space Knight, who contributed to the world of Marvel comics are also part of the exhibit.

The installation also has several immersive booths for fans to experience the new updates on Marvel mobile games including MARVEL Future Fight, MARVEL Contest of Champions, MARVEL Strike Force, and Marvel Puzzle Quest.

MARVEL PRODUCTS
Fans can also buy Marvel-branded Funko and Lego toys and view life-sized action figures and collectibles.

“Over the years, the SM Group and The Walt Disney Co. have worked together in bringing larger-than-life experiences for Filipinos nationwide. Our partnership gets bigger this 2019 as we join the worldwide celebration for Marvel’s 80th year, and bring this immersive new experience to all Marvel fans in the Philippines,” Myra Moñozca, Vice-President for Licensing & Partnerships — SM Lifestyle Inc., was quoted as saying in a press release.

Special edition Marvel 80th Philippine merchandise will also be available in SM malls including Marvel hoodies and shirts for children and teens, and oversized plush toys at Toy Kingdom. For every P1,000 single-receipt purchase of Marvel merchandise in SM Store and Toy Kingdom branches nationwide, shoppers will be given a limited-edition Marvel 80 Years collectible poster. They can also get a bag tag when they purchase at select Marvel 80 Years retail pop-up stores.

MINISO JOINS IN
Chinese low-cost retailer and variety store chain Miniso, is also celebrating Marvel’s anniversary by introducing hundreds of Marvel-branded products, from household goods to consumer goods, and giving their larger stores a Marvel theme.

“This was spearheaded by the Miniso headquarters in China and I think they’ve been talking about this for over a year now,” Andrew Ybardolaza, marketing head of Miniso Philippines, told BusinessWorld during the launch of the Marvel-themed SM North EDSA store on Aug. 16.

The SM North EDSA branch is the second to be overhauled with this theme after SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City in early August.

“Almost 80% of the store [will have Marvel-branded products]. I think we have more than 300 Marvel SKUs,” he said.

This is Miniso Philippines’ biggest brand partnership after Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears in 2017 and Pink Panther in 2018.

Miniso Philippines currently has 84 stores in the country and is planning to end the year with 105 stores. — Zsarlene B. Chua

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