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Line aims to take a bite out of competition
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A year ago, Siobhan Stollznow would have scoffed at the idea of using cartoon characters instead of words to chat with friends on her smartphone — until she got hooked on messaging app Line.
The Australian student is now one of millions of converts to Line’s huge assortment of animated “stickers,” which some too-busy-to-text fans rely on to express their feelings — a kind of animated language.
“I was surprised at first. How can you have a conversation through stickers?” said the 22-year-old at a store in Tokyo’s Harajuku district which sells mugs, t-shirts and other merchandise decorated with Line’s cutesy characters.
“I guess it kind of grew on me...Each (character) has got their unique personality.”
Japan-based Line is betting on those stickers as it kicked off a dual New York-Tokyo stock listing from Thursday, after an initial public offering worth about US$1.3 billion, expected to be one of the year’s biggest share sales.
Nanako, a 25-year-old tech industry worker from San Francisco, will be taking back good words about Line to the US — along with some socks and a cup decorated with her favorite character, a yellow duck named Sally.
Line can also be used to make free calls, send no-charge instant messages, and post photos or short videos, along with a host of other paid-services.
But what has set it apart so far — particularly in home market Japan where cute is king — are the stickers that friends can send to each other.
Some are free, some cost a few dollars and Line’s internet sticker shop sells thousands, from Hello Kitty pop-ups and Super Mario to Manga and Disney characters.
One service allows users to create and sell their own characters, while Line’s homegrown stable of stickers include the duck Sally, a sad-face bear called Brown and Cony the rabbit.
“You can express yourself not only in words but also in images.”
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