In a recent press release from Bandai's communication department, the company is taking its baby steps in entering the 12-inch figure market with the upcoming release of the Perfect Model Tiger&Bunny and Star Wars toys. There will be a "public prototype viewing event" to be held on September 1-2, 2012 (Sat-Sun) in Japan. Here is some of the takeaways from the release:
In the Japanese action figure market, action figures standing 12-16 cm tall are the mainstream product. However, overseas, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, a size of 12 inches (approx. 30 cm) is considered to be the global standard, with action figures of this size having proven highly popular. Accordingly, Bandai intends to launch the new 12” PM series of action figures over the same time period in multiple countries worldwide, with the view to enhancing its competitiveness in the global action figure market. At the same time, Bandai will promote the appeal of 12-inch tall action figures in its home market in Japan.
The first model in the series will be 12’’ PM Wild Tiger (Launch: December 2012; JPY 26,250, including tax), an action figure based on the main protagonist of TIGER & BUNNY, a Japanese animation series that has been well received in various countries around the world. This model will be followed up by 12’’ PM C-3PO (Launch: February 2013; JPY 33,600, including tax), an action figure based on C-3PO, a droid character from the globally popular Star Wars film. Thereafter, Bandai will continue to commercialize action figures based on a variety of characters.
The key target market is males in their 20s and 30s. Bandai plans to sell the figures in model shops, toy stores, and model and toy departments of electronics and mass retail outlets. The action figures will also be sold through Internet sales and otherc hannels. Bandai is targeting global sales of 20,000 units for the series as a whole by March 31, 2013.
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