Walt Disney Co Ltd said yesterday it will launch Disney Princess - the third Disney brand after Pooh and Mickey - on the Chinese mainland. The company is currently looking for local retail partners.

"Disney Princess is designed specially for two- to 10-year-old girls. In the past, we have neglected this market catering to their needs," said Daniel Tso, vice president of the company's Asia Pacific Region.

"We estimate the brand value of Disney Princess will exceed US$4 billion by 2006," said Tso.

The image of Disney Princess is represented by six fairy tale characters - "Snow White," "Cinderella," "Beauty and the Beast," "Mermaid" and "Aladdin" and "Sleeping Beauty."

"Compared with other competitors such as Barbie and Hello Kitty, Disney Princess has the edge because of the higher reputation of our six fairy tale characters," Tso noted.

"All of them are rooted deeply in little girls' fantasy and the idea of 'prince and princess living happily after' is what girls dream about."

Disney Princess has more than 25,000 product varieties, including clothes, stationery, body-care products, ornaments, home videos, books and even computers.

The brand was first launched in the United States last year before being promoted in Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong.

In the latest company survey, Disney Princess accounted for 30 percent of total sales at Disney Hong Kong stores and 20 percent for Disney Australia.

So far, more than 100 Chinese companies are producing products under the Disney brand, whose sales reached US$50 million last year on China's mainland.

But the company declined to reveal the investment or the profitability of the brand.

Some local retailers such as Pacific Department Store and Xiangyang Kidworld have shown interest in a partnership with Disney.

The company is also pinning hopes on the Hong Kong Disneyland, which will open in late 2005, to help establish Disney Princess's reputation in the Asia Pacific region.

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