Chinese toyco Kayou is expanding its collectibles business into the US market, just in time for this year’s holiday shopping season.
Kayou is best known for producing licensed collectible trading cards spanning nearly 100 IPs, including Harry Potter, Transformers and SpongeBob Squarepants. These cards account for 80% of the company’s annual sales, which totalled more than US$1.12 billion in China alone last year, according to a release.
To break into the US, Kayou has partnered with the livestream commerce company Crossing, which will showcase its trading cards to consumers and give them early access to purchase booster packs online starting later this month. After that, the initial card collections will roll out at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Gamestop, Target and Walmart stores in October, with an MSRP of US$3.99 per pack.
Kayou has earmarked three IPs for its US debut: Naruto, My Little Pony and Japanese lifestyle brand tokidoki. Each booster for these brands will come with eight random collectible cards and feature a range of rarities, from holographics and textures, to gold foiling and 3D effects. Kayou has also included new chase cards in each set that are exclusive to the US market.
Outside of its core trading card business, Kayou also produces toys, plush, stationery and novelties, but these won’t be part of its stateside expansion. In April, the company launched a My Little Pony Card Game in partnership with Hasbro, with two starter decks and an initial booster set, but there’s no word yet on whether this game will reach North American retailers.






