TOTAL LICENSING CHINA
The National Gallery expands in China
For more information about global licensing at the National Gallery contact: licensing@nationalgallery. co.uk
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The National Gallery, London continues to develop licensing activity in China The National Gallery tells the story of European art from the late medieval period to the early twentieth century. From its home in London’s Trafalgar Square, the Gallery collects and cares for some of the world’s greatest paintings. Founded in 1824, the collection has over 2,300 pictures. Its story spans 700 years, with paintings from Renaissance Italy and by the French Impressionists. The Gallery is home to Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, Monet’s The Water-Lily Pond,Van Eyck’s The Arnolfini Portrait, Velázquez’s The Rokeby Venus and Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire. The richness of the collection has caught the imagination of audiences in China. The Gallery’s licensing story goes from strength to strength. Working closely with Alfilo Brands, the master licensee in China, the success of the partnership is down to a real understanding of the audiences in China and their appreciation of European art. In 2018 the partnership was launched with a 30-metre-long ‘Cultural and Art Corridor’ in the Shanghai metro.
Around 6 million commuters saw the advertising and merchandise campaign over 30 days. Later that year, the National Gallery opened their first experiential and interactive pop-up store in Asia’s largest retail mall in Guangzhou, attracting 150,000 customers over four days. The following year, a second pop-up shop, ‘National Gallery Store in the Sky’, opened on the 116th floor of the Shenzhen Pin An Financial Center, the fourth tallest building in the world. In 2019, the National Gallery took part in China’s first ‘Global Museum Day’ on JD.com, the largest self-operated ecommerce platform in China, again in collaboration with Alfilo Brands. It was co-sponsored by the National Gallery, London, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the V&A, London, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, who developed bespoke products for the platform with various partners. The event generated 1 billion brand impressions in the Chinese market. The first National Gallery online store launched on TMall, operated by the Alibaba Group, and the Gallery also sold merchandise through the Museums and Galleries Collection store
in Shanghai. New TMall & JD stores will be launched this year. The first Delicious Art™ café will also open in Shanghai. In addition to developments in retail and merchandise, the National Gallery have also been bringing their art to the forefront of learning by running a series of workshops at the Liu Haisu Museum and at the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts. “We are delighted by the growth and success in China and our collaborative relationship with Alfilo Brands. One of our key aims is to raise awareness and expand our reach into new markets, and China has become one of our success stories. We have been able to launch new and innovative experiences and have tapped into modern museum retail in one of the most advanced digital buying markets globally. The Chinese audiences have a true appetite for learning and immersing themselves into European art and history, and we are delighted to be able to showcase that through unique and engaging approaches and bespoke product development.” Judith Mather, National Gallery Company, Director of Buying and Brand Licensing.
