Angry Birds to open its first retail store

After tasting sweet success in the mobile gaming space, Rovio Entertainment Oy, the creators of Angry Birds game have decided to step up the gas and enter into the retail gaming market. Their best-selling game Angry Birds, its variants, merchandise and few other games from the creator will hit the stores soon.

One would expected that their first store would open in the Europe (from where they belong) or the Americas, but to everyone’s surprise the Finnish company has decided to open its first store in China which apparently is the fastest growing market for their game. Within a year of the store’s operations Rovio is aiming to make $100 million in sales.

Right now apart from the revenue generated by the game itself Rovio rakes in a considerable amount of revenue from the online sales of the merchandise which includes stuffed toys, flip-flops and Halloween costumes. The industry estimate is that 10% to 20% of the overall revenue is contributed by the merchandise and it sells about a million units per month.

Right now their complete focus is on China and wants to make sure that not only are their stores a big hit but also that they eliminate the piracy and impersonations involved around Angry Birds. They have not announced the location of their first store but you can expect them to have multiple stores in major cities across China.

If they do succeed in their plans for the retail then it will make them one of the most profitable mobile gaming companies. Infact if sales figures are achieved as expected then the company may go public next year.

It’s definitely good times ahead for Rovio and Angry Birds fans.