A century-old wealthy family that rose from Shanghai

On the eve of the Spring Festival (1987).

Chan Man-kai, chairman of Cheung Kong Group, accompanied by his wife Fong Yee and their youngest son Chan Chak-hung (14 years old), visited the 'Manga World Building' on Paterson Street in Causeway Bay.

The Paterson Street complex consists of a department store, a shopping mall, a Furama Hotel, an office building, and four residential apartments.

The office building was later renamed the Manke World Building and served as the headquarters of Manke World Publishing House.

This means that Hong Kong's comic book industry has become an important sector of Hong Kong's economy.

Today, Hong Kong's comic book industry employs thousands of people and, along with the US and Japan, is considered one of the world's three major comic book production regions. Outstanding examples of Hong Kong's comic book industry over the years include works such as *Fist of the North Star*, *City Hunter*, *Dragon Ball*, *Mobile Suit Gundam*, *Detective Conan*, and *Dragon Tiger Gate*, which have had a significant impact in Asia and even Europe and America.

As Chen Wenkai and his family of three entered the lobby of the "Manke World Building," they were greeted by a series of large cartoon characters, including Hello Kitty, Conan, Sun Wukong, Mobile Suit Gundam, and Transformers. The sheer scale of this comic book publisher was immediately apparent.

As for why 'Transformers' is included, it's because Hong Kong citizens know that the wildly popular 'Transformers' in the United States were improved from Hong Kong's transforming toys Diaclone and Microstar Superman.

Fourteen-year-old Chen Zehong still retains some of his youthful nature and couldn't resist visiting the cartoon characters, but he quickly followed his parents into the elevator.

When the family of three entered the office building of Comic World, it was like a paradise of comics. Graffiti and photos of works could be seen everywhere on the walls, and the style of the comic artists was different from that of office buildings in Central, full of artistic atmosphere.

Mr. Chen and Mrs. Chen

The cartoonists they knew greeted them warmly, their eyes filled with surprise.

Yangtze River Industrial Group is the parent company of Huatai Group, which in turn is the parent company of Manke World. It is generally difficult for employees of subsidiary companies to meet the chairman and general manager of the group.

However, Chen Wenkai has always attached great importance to Manke World Publishing House, and he would come to inspect the work several times a year.

"Ayi, Zehong, you can go and take a look if you're interested. I need to hold a meeting!"

"Okay, husband!"

Subsequently, accompanied by Su Dongsheng, General Manager of Huatai Group, and Zhang Yuzhen, General Manager of Manke World, Chen Wenkai entered the conference room.

The senior executives inside stood up to greet them, and then sat down again. These executives were not only from Manke Publishing House, but also from Manke World.

Among them, Manke Publishing House is generally responsible for publishing comic works, that is, print content; while Manke World is responsible for developing and operating comics and related products, among which the figurine business is more important.

After sitting down, Chen Wenkai said, "Manga World has been established for more than 20 years. Our achievements are not only the HK$200 million net profit we made last year, but also the cultivation of a huge industry in Hong Kong."

Upon hearing this, everyone applauded with slight excitement.

At that time, Hong Kong's comic book industry ranked among the "world's top three", with thousands of people directly or indirectly employed in the industry. Among them, "lead comic book artist" was a well-known high-paying profession in Hong Kong, and one of the representative professions that lived in luxury homes and drove luxury cars.

In the same period of their previous life, Jade Books' net profit was over HK$6000 million. At that time, their novel "Dragon Tiger Gate" was not only a bestseller in Hong Kong, but also very popular overseas.

In this life, Hong Kong's comics scene is incredibly vibrant, with a groundbreaking work emerging every two or three years. These works not only penetrate Southeast Asia and South Korea but also invade Japan and Europe, gaining significant recognition. Even the local comics market has roughly doubled in size compared to the previous life.

Manga World's net profit last year was 2.5 million yuan, of which 65% came from overseas markets and 35% from domestic markets. And the overseas market is just beginning.

Chen Wenkai continued, "Every classic work of ours is an eternal cash cow. Do you all understand what we need to do?"

Zhang Yuzhen, a senior executive, stepped forward and said, "It's about the long-term development of IP around the work. Take Disney and Mattel toys as examples. A classic work will only have a greater and greater influence because the world is becoming more interconnected."

Chen Wenkai nodded and said, "Pitt is right. We're less than 10% complete in developing the IP. I think everyone should understand what we need to do next, right?"

Upon hearing the 10% development rate, everyone immediately began to think about and discuss this statement, expressing their own thoughts.

A senior executive stated, "Take 'Hello Kitty' as an example. When we developed the first-generation design in the 1960s, we did almost no market testing or advertising. Moreover, as long as Kitty's cute and innocent image wasn't tarnished, our company would grant licensing rights for almost any product (except cigarettes, alcohol, and firearms). After more than twenty years of development, the Hello Kitty design has become the second generation, but its influence has spread to every corner of the world, including Europe, America, and Asia. I remember our strategy at the time was 'grassroots marketing,' and now Hello Kitty is generating more and more wealth for us, producing HK$12 million in profit last year alone."

When this strategy was mentioned, everyone couldn't help but applaud.

Regarding the development of IPs, Chen Wenkai personally gave many instructions, and he even referred to each IP as a "treasure trove".

Hong Kong comics have now invaded the mainland and have a significant influence in coastal areas.

On the other hand, the 'animation department' of companies like Manke World has been sold to a media group and has begun to 'televisionize' Manke World's comics. Each production has generated huge viewership and the copyrights have been sold overseas.

Chen Wenkai has reason to believe that this is a 'great family heirloom' left to him by his father.

After the meeting, he went to Zhang Yuzhen's office and handed him a stack of documents.

"This is the outline of a work. You organize the project team and begin preparing for creation."

It's simple and straightforward; I'm too lazy to explain the source.

In any case, Hong Kong citizens have become accustomed to the fact that the comic works published by Comic World are basically completed by internal project teams. A typical work will have: one lead artist, two assistant lead artists, three scriptwriters, and numerous assistants, all under the studio's name. Although the lead artist may have some honors, they receive a fixed salary plus bonuses and do not enjoy any copyright.

This model also made Comic World the "Whampoa Military Academy" of Hong Kong's comics industry, laying the foundation for its development. Today, Comic World still only holds a 70% market share in Hong Kong's comics industry, not a complete monopoly.

Zhang Yuzhen picked up the manuscript and immediately saw the title "One Piece." He thought to himself, "It's another new theme. I wonder who submitted it, or if the boss came up with it himself."

He certainly wouldn't say anything more, after all, he had been with the company for over twenty years, and there were some things that needed to be handled by him.

“No problem! Detective Conan has been serialized for a while now, and we should release a new big work next. One Piece is just right.”

Comic World owns a weekly magazine, "Comic World," and a daily comic newspaper, "Comic Daily," as well as dozens of other publications, but it is still mainly a weekly magazine. In the weekly magazine "Comic World," a "major work" occupies 20-30% of the page, and the rest are other types of works. The major works have always been representative works of the Hong Kong comic industry. Although some good works have emerged in other categories, they cannot compare with the representative works.

Chen Wenkai nodded and said, "Now that you have the management authority over both Manke World and Manke Publishing House, remember to pay attention to Manke World, and the publishing house is now fully established."

"Okay, Mr. Chen."

Ultimately, the previous stage was about conquering the country; now it's time to start managing it.

The development of each work requires a significant amount of time and effort.

The 'figure industry' is an important part of IP peripheral development, and Zhang Yuzhen is aware of its importance.

Manke World is backed by the 'world toy giant Huatai Group', so its figure industry naturally has abundant internal resources. Huatai Group even has its own figure company, implementing a dual development model.

at this time.

Chen Zehong became a 'star figure' in the world of comics, with many lead comic artists and editors inviting him to view their works, and even showing him unpublished manuscripts.

One new comic artist muttered, "This is so snobbish!"

He was a cartoonist and an artist who had just entered the industry and was unwilling to bow to power.

A colleague standing nearby said, "Snobbish? Ah Cheng, do you know who deserves the most credit for the Hong Kong comics industry's success today?"

Ah Cheng was taken aback, and had no choice but to lower his head and say, "Naturally, it's Comic World. Our company has led the Hong Kong comics industry from the region to the world."

“That’s not quite right,” my colleague said earnestly. “It’s true that Comic World is a good company! But the ones who truly played the biggest role were Sir Chan Kwong-leung and the current Chairman Chan Man-kai. It was their strong support over two generations that made Hong Kong’s comics industry what it is today. Of course, you might think I’m just flattering them, since they were in it for the money. But you need to know that when Sir Chan Kwong-leung invested in the comics industry, Hong Kong comics were dominated by Japanese comics, and the market was extremely small. At that time, the company received his strong support and began to cultivate comics talent and improve the industry’s environment and systems. Our company didn’t make a profit for ten years, but the support increased year by year. This is something that no single company can do; it’s something that only someone with great vision and courage could decide.”

Acheng exclaimed in surprise, "Ten years without profit? How is that possible?"

If you have good works, shouldn't you be able to make a profit?

The first work of Comic World, Fist of the North Star, was already very popular, surpassing Little Rascal (Dragon Tiger Gate) and Japanese comics that invaded Hong Kong at the time.

"How could it be impossible! In the first year of the company's establishment, it only recruited one hundred students. Some had basic skills, while others had only studied drawing. At that time, in order to cultivate talent, the company provided food and accommodation for even the students and gave them a certain living allowance. It was as if they were teaching skills and even paying them a salary. Every year after that, they recruited students. Moreover, Sir Chan Kwong-leung also promoted the establishment of the Hong Kong School of Arts and the comics major. Otherwise, where would Hong Kong get so many comics talents now?"

Ah Cheng lowered his head and said, "I graduated from the Hong Kong Arts School with a full tuition waiver from the Chan Kwong Leung Foundation."

When it comes to the success of this industry, Hong Kong citizens actually know who the biggest contributor is.

Simply put, the development of Comic World and Hong Kong comics has never received government guidance or assistance; it has been driven entirely by private individuals. Today, Hong Kong's comics industry is not just about earning a few hundred million in profits, but has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry.

For example, some merchandise printed on T-shirts is exported and becomes very popular overseas; some merchandise in places like Ocean Park and Songcheng attracts overseas tourists; and some overseas tourists even come to Hong Kong specifically because of the comics.

This is the industrial effect.

Without stopping, Chen Wenkai also inspected the hardware department of Midea Games Entertainment before the Lunar New Year.

Midea's gaming and entertainment division is divided into a software division and a hardware division. The hardware division's main product is 'arcade machines', followed by 'game consoles', and the two products are quite different.

Hong Kong is currently a major production center for arcade games worldwide, exporting even more games annually than Japan, and these are all officially licensed arcade games. Of course, this is also thanks to the strength of Midea's game and entertainment software division.

"Mr. Chen, this is a Street Fighter arcade machine we produce. This type of game machine is most popular in Taiwan and Japan, followed by North America," a manager introduced enthusiastically.

Chen Wenkai said with satisfaction, "I quite enjoy playing this game! But I didn't expect it to be so popular in Japan."

“Sales in Japan are particularly good. In the last 10 months, 2 units were exported, second only to the United States with 2.5 units.”

The significant difference in purchasing power and population size between the two countries clearly demonstrates that Japan is more popular.

All of Midea Games Entertainment's video games were first released on arcade machines and then ported to the Famicom (FC) console. On the arcade machines, Midea Games Entertainment profited from both hardware and software sales. However, for the Famicom ports, Electronic Arts (EA) paid Midea a commission on every unit sold, eliminating any concerns about inflated sales figures.

Lin Botao, president of Midea Games Entertainment, said from the side, "Midea Games Entertainment has produced many classic games around the world. Currently, the most popular one is still 'Hong Kong Blocks,' which is the only one that can be compared with Japan's 'Super Mario.' And in handheld game consoles, 'Hong Kong Blocks' holds an absolute dominant position."

Chen Wenkai was also quite surprised by this recently.

My father said that Contra could be compared to Super Mario, but that's not actually the case. Contra is only very popular in Asia. It's not that it's unpopular in North America, but it's not comparable to Super Mario at all.

On the contrary, the sales of "Hong Kong Blocks" on arcade and game consoles are comparable to those of "Super Mario Bros.", making it a must-play for handheld game enthusiasts worldwide.

Of course, Hong Kong Blocks was a product of the late 1970s, while Super Mario Bros. was born in 1981.

Thinking about this, Chen Wenkai couldn't help but wonder, if Super Mario was developed in Hong Kong, then... However, he quickly shook his head. Although EA's Famicom console currently accounts for 80% of game console sales in North America, Europe, and Japan, its profits are almost negligible. It mainly drives the export of Japanese hardware, and its own profits cannot be compared with those of software.

Therefore, without a series of classic software such as Super Mario Bros., Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda, Golf, and Tennis, Electronic Arts (EA) would not be where it is today.

Ultimately, the father wanted to give Wenying a huge business, which had nothing to do with the competition between Japan and Hong Kong.

In fact, it is the most profitable enterprise group among all the brothers. In 1986, Cheung Kong Group made a profit of more than HK$3 billion, making it the most profitable large group enterprise in Hong Kong and even in the world.

Games and comics can only be described as industries with high 'profit margins'; but the vast industrial base of the Changgong Group is the real money-making machine. (End of Chapter)