Global Resources April Hong Kong Phase One Exhibition eSports x IP Collaboration x Blind Box Economy Takes the Lead

Global Sources Hong Kong Exhibition will be held from April 11 to 30 at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong. As the largest B2B (Business to Business) new product launch and procurement platform in Asia, this exhibition will be divided into three phases, attracting over 2,000 high-quality exhibitors from different countries and regions in Asia, showcasing more than 100,000 professional innovative products and a rich array of peripheral ecological products. The first phase of the exhibition will integrate three major professional exhibitions: gaming, consumer electronics, and electronic components, and is expected to attract over 60,000 international professional B2B buyers from around the world, with more than 40% of buyers from Europe and the United States.

Breaking the Limitations of Traditional Exhibitions and Leading Industry Innovation Development

Regarding the outlook for the 2025 exhibition, Global Sources CEO Hu Wei expressed optimism. "In the context of profound changes in the current trade landscape, Global Sources Hong Kong Exhibition has broken the limitations of traditional physical booths through deep integration of online and offline (O2O). Before the exhibition, pre-registration and data analysis assist in precise promotion; during the exhibition, digital services and cloud-based live streaming enhance interactive experiences; after the exhibition, continuous promotion optimizes services." Hu Wei continued, "This digital transformation empowerment solution not only creates an efficient, precise, and comprehensive communication and cooperation platform for exhibitors and buyers but also responds to the concept of environmentally friendly green procurement, laying a solid foundation for the exhibition to become a leader in industry trends and an incubator for innovative achievements, promoting continuous innovation and development in the industry."

Register Now to Grasp the Industry Trends for the Next Six Months

The 2025 Global Sources April Hong Kong Exhibition is now accepting buyer registrations! Over 5,000 high-quality exhibitors from Asia will gather at the AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong, showcasing more than 340,000 professional innovative products and a rich array of peripheral ecological products, revealing the industry trends for the next six months and creating new business opportunities for both buyers and sellers. The first phase of the exhibition will kick off from April 11 to 14! Register now! And click the link below to learn more!

Register now: http://7zv.cn/pfHNS

First Independent Game Exhibition: Real User Experience as a Procurement Indicator In 2024, "Black Myth: Wukong" made its debut, not only driving the high-quality development of e-sports culture and industry in the country and Hong Kong but also sparking a wave of Chinese cultural enthusiasm in the global e-sports gaming field. In response to the global e-sports trend, this exhibition is specifically designed for gaming e-sports, and the independently set gaming exhibition is bound to become the core focus of the event. As one of Asia's most influential e-sports peripheral events, the exhibition has successfully attracted over 200 outstanding companies from the industry, including DAREU, AULA, PXN, VGN, FL·ESPORTS, and Morphling.

This year's exhibition introduces new features, including the inaugural "KOL and Best Popularity Voting for Gaming Peripherals" event, which is expected to provide forward-looking guidance for industry trends through an innovative selection mechanism. To make the event more significant, several international e-sports peripheral reviewers with over a million fans have been successfully invited as chief judges, who will work alongside on-site buyers using a dual-track scoring system of "70% professional score + 30% buyer score." The selected products cover six categories: gaming mice, gaming keyboards, gaming chairs, gaming displays, game controllers, and gaming headsets, with scoring based on five core indicators: product appearance design, functionality, operational experience, material quality, and innovative technology. Ultimately, 18 shortlisted products will undergo final evaluations by the judging panel in the professional evaluation area at the exhibition on April 12. The results will be summarized on April 13 and announced at the award ceremony on-site, selecting the "Best Popular Products" in six categories of gaming peripherals for the first half of the year.

When asked about the "KOL and Best Popularity Voting for Gaming Peripherals" event, Gao Jiaxian, Vice President of Global Resources Hong Kong Exhibition and Overseas Exhibition Business, stated: "This selection deeply integrates professional perspectives with market responses, effectively breaking the old model of traditional exhibitions being closed-door events. It not only provides direction for the development of the gaming hardware peripheral market, helping buyers accurately filter quality products and seize procurement opportunities in fierce market competition, but also has the potential to reshape the entire industry's new product development ecosystem."

In addition, this year's exhibition will continue to feature "Gaming and E-sports Products," showcasing the latest gaming, e-sports, and accessory innovations, providing global buyers with a convenient, professional, and personalized procurement experience.

Breaking Out from IP Collaborations to Blind Box Economy

In recent years, blind boxes, keychains, and dolls have varied in style, with many beautifully designed and distinctive "trendy toys" becoming favorites among young people. Especially with the current shift in consumption patterns among Generation Z, they are willing and eager to choose co-branded designs with their favorite IPs and beloved animations, even if it means paying a premium for limited editions. In light of this, many exhibitors at the upcoming Global Resources exhibition will showcase three major innovative paths and business opportunities through cross-industry collaborations between IPs and products.

Path One: Leveraging Well-Known International IP Licenses to Gain Market Share

To seize market opportunities and enhance brand awareness, many companies are currently leveraging the influence of well-known international IPs to boost product competitiveness. For example, Qishun Innovation Technology from Shenzhen has obtained the IP of Bumblebee from Hasbro's Transformers through collaboration, co-branding, and licensing And launched a series of co-branded consumer electronics products at the Consumer Electronics Show to enhance the uniqueness and appeal of the products.

Path Two: Creating Original Toy IP to Build Brand Moat

While purchasing internationally renowned IP licenses to launch products is indeed convenient and direct, other competitors or industry users can replicate this approach, and these well-known IPs often come at a high cost. In fact, manufacturers can shape brand characteristics by creating their own toy IP, which is relatively higher in terms of cost and availability, establishing a competitive advantage in the long run. For example, Etechgroups will bring its self-created IP MEOWZART and a series of consumer electronics products developed around this IP to the exhibition, launching its unique brand to the international market.

Path Three: Building an "IP Full-Chain Ecosystem"

Innovative Play is constructing a composite model of "IP incubation - licensing - customization," leveraging major IPs to produce co-branded products while also incubating its own IP-themed products, providing relevant customization services for small and medium-sized brands. For instance, the fashionable digital peripheral brand AKKO and its sub-brand MonsGeek not only brought co-branded keyboard products for specific countries and regions with high-quality IPs such as the Japanese anime IP One Piece, Hatsune Miku, and the domestic IP Joy of Life at the exhibition, but also launched their own IP products, expanding into overseas markets with the "self-created IP + brand" model.

As the popularity of IP co-branding and licensing continues to rise, the market's immense potential is gradually becoming apparent. Some IP parties are beginning to deepen their layout in the B-end market, testing the waters of the blind box economy. This attempt is expected to open new revenue growth points for IP parties and provide more diverse cooperation paths for manufacturers. For example, Akko will launch IP keycap blind box wholesale services at the exhibition to explore the development space of the blind box economy in the B-end market; IP Happi Class will leverage the platform of the Global Resources Hong Kong Exhibition to showcase the virtual community Happi Town's blind box series products and conduct a limited edition blind box activity for registered buyers at the exhibition, exploring potential opportunities in the B-end market.

Gao Jiaxian, Vice President of Global Resources Hong Kong Exhibition and Overseas Exhibition Business, emphasized: "IP co-branding has evolved from single product cooperation to multi-dimensional experience innovation. Electronic products paired with blind boxes can not only consolidate cooperative relationships with core customers but also further expand the premium space of products, helping all parties in the industrial chain deeply develop the potential value of IP and inject new vitality into the B-end market." He also stated that as the Global Resources website celebrates its 30th anniversary, the company is leveraging this opportunity to design the exhibition spirit IP as a blind box, distributing it in limited quantities during on-site user research at the exhibition to enhance the commercial atmosphere.

(Data provided by the client)