SHANGHAI, May 16 (Xinhua) -- Global toy giant LEGO Group Friday night launched its first theme inspired by a renowned Chinese legend in Shanghai.
Inspired by the story of the Monkey King from the classic novel "Journey to the West," which had great cultural influence in China and even Asia, the newly released LEGO Monkie Kid was designed with a modern twist and will be made available globally.
Julia Goldin, chief marketing officer at LEGO group, said the launch of LEGO Monkie Kid showed the company's "commitment to building a strong future in China."
Paul Huang, senior vice president of the LEGO Group and general manager of LEGO China, said the company will introduce more collections inspired by rich Chinese culture, acting as a bridge between China and the rest of the world.
"We're not just going to make the new collection available in places where ethnic Chinese commonly live, we're launching this for the global market," Huang said that as Chinese culture speeds up to go global, the company would like to contribute to the process.
Lego debuted Chinese traditional festival-themed sets at the last two editions of the China International Import Expo and received successful results, said Huang.
Huang also noted that while the COVID-19 pandemic shadowed the passenger flow into the stores in the short term, business in China is still robust.
"We have confidence in the potential, vitality and attractiveness of the Chinese market, and our goal to open 80 more stores in 2020 hasn't changed."
"We chose to debut this collection in Shanghai because of the city's remarkable attraction and preferable business environment, especially the protection of IP rights," said Huang.
Up to now, Lego has 156 retail stores in over 30 cities in China, including flagship stores in Beijing and Shanghai. Enditem
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