Korean instant messaging software "Line" plans to open an indoor digital theme park in Bangkok at the end of 2017. This is another big move after Line opened retail stores in Japan, South Korea, Mainland China and Taiwan. This time, Line is targeting Thailand, the second largest market after Japan.
In June this year, Line opened a retail store in Siam Plaza in Bangkok, Thailand, mainly selling dolls and peripheral products. The digital theme park will be expanded on this basis. Since then, Thailand has become the first indoor Line store. Theme park country. According to project leader Kampanart Wonghongkul, the retail store (Line Village Bangkok) is located in Siam Square and will become a good place for young people to pursue fashion and "cute culture" in the future.
It is reported that the expanded digital theme park will cost approximately US$14.7 million (approximately 99.7 million yuan). The three-story building will display three parks with independent stories, and the park will be equipped with VR amusement facilities. In addition to localized giant dolls, tuk-tuks with Thai characteristics will also appear in retail stores carrying dolls. In addition, the park has a cooperation exhibition area between Samsung and Line Friends, where you can play VR games and try out the Samsung Gear360 panoramic camera. The park is expected to attract 12 million visitors a year.
Since entering the communication software market in 2011, "Line Friends" has quickly attracted fans with its cute emoticon pack "Line Friends" and has as many as 400 million users worldwide. As a successful example of O2O (online to offline) business operations, anthropomorphic animal images such as Brown Bear, Coni Rabbit, and Sally Duck have brought good business to "Lianwo" in addition to chat software. "Even Me" is involved in product fields such as makeup, daily necessities, transportation cards, accessories, nail products, dental appliances, drinks, skin care products, shoes, etc. Misshang , Uniqlo, Thermos, L'Occitane , Pizza Hut, Burberry... these are just part of the huge cooperative brand group of "Lianwo". People are so willing to buy derivative products of "Connect" and take photos and share them, which fully demonstrates that "Connect" has successfully turned communication software into a cultural industry.
When a successful cultural industry encounters a market dominated by tourism, good prospects are foreseeable. Thailand is such a country that focuses on tourism. In 2016, the tourism industry brought benefits of approximately US$71.4 billion to Thailand. Not to mention, 94% of the 44 million mobile phone users in Thailand have downloaded "Connect", which creates an advantage for the "Connect" theme park to enter the Thai market. A tourist who loves Line Friends said: "It was originally difficult to buy Line Friends products in Thailand. You could only go abroad or find purchasing agents. Now that there are retail stores in Bangkok, people who like them as much as me must be very happy."
