HONG KONG: Many exhibitors are rubbing their hands in glee after the first day of the Ani-Com and Games fair. Sales are up!

About 113,000 fans of comics, animation and computer games, as well as cosplayers flocked to the annual carnival to snap up sought-after items and show off their outrageous costumes. The turnout was 6.6 percent higher than on opening day last year, according to the organizer.

Oscar Chu Chung-ho, the president of the U1 Digital Entertainment Group, a producer of online games, comics and figurines, said its turnover had been better than last year's so far.

"All sale goods and limited edition items were sold out by 1 pm, four to five hours sooner than last year," he said.

Chu said sales of online games are strong despite the financial crisis.

Chu said products priced at HK$50 to HK$100 are popular and that his expectation on sales will keep going up.

Anna Chow Sui-nar, the senior marketing manager for Microsoft, which produces Xbox 360, also predicted a 10 percent growth in business compared to last year.

"No matter how bad the economy is, the game industry will never follow suit. Even though more people tend to stay at home and cut spending, they still need some pastime. Our products are their best choice," she said.

Thomas Tang Wing-hung, the director of Rightman Publishing, which publishes various comics, guide books and novels, said its sales had been so far better than last year.

"Many students have a longer summer break this year as schools are shut down earlier than usual due to the human swine flu outbreak, so they can spend more time reading comics," he said.

Tang also said because more teens will stay in Hong Kong this summer, owing to the global threat of flu, it probably will push sales up over last year.

He expected to see growth of more than 10 percent in turnover at this year's fair.

Lisa Hui Kwai-kit, the general manager of Muse Communications, which sells a vast array of collectibles, accessories and animation DVDs, said this is the first time her company has taken part in the fair and she is happy with sales so far.

"It is better than expected though the economic downturn may drag down our business a bit," she said.

A spokeswoman for the Oriental Trading Company, which sells a variety of toys, said fewer people have visited the company booth this year, but she is optimistic visitors will come on the weekend.

Lego Hong Kong's product manager Yvonne Lam was not so buoyant in her outlook. She worried about sales this year.

"That's why we axed the number of our booths from 20 last year to 10 this year. All I hope is to do as well as we did last year," she said.

Chen Yongdong, a visitor from Guangzhou, said he and his friend spent about HK$1,400 on Gundam models and other collectibles.

He said he is impressed by the wide variety of products in his first visit to the fair. "Similar shows are sometimes held in Guangzhou, but the fair here has more items from abroad," he said.

Echo Chen, 24, from Zhongshan, said she and her friend Kenny Wan, 28, spent about HK$2,000, mainly on some limited edition Gundam models.

"There's a great atmosphere. It's packed with people," she said. "Few such fairs take place on the mainland."

The fair at the Convention and Exhibition Centre will run until next Tuesday.

(HK Edition 08/01/2009 page1)