The Hangzhou 2022 mascots have proven to be a big hit during the Asian Games ©Getty Images

More than CNY¥700 million (£79.5 million/$97 million/€92 million) has been generated from the sale of licensed products for this year’s Asian Games here, organisers have revealed.

Items ranging from the Hangzhou 2022 official mascots and pins to magnets and keyrings have been flying off the shelves at merchandise shops over the past two weeks.

Du Mengfei, deputy director of the marketing department of Hangzhou 2022, said there were around 1,500 different types of licensed products but admitted that the mascots, named Congcong, Lianlian and Chenchen, have proven to be the biggest hit.

"Mascots have always caught a lot of attention in various different types of sports and they are popular as a type of product,” said Du.

"As of [Wednesday] our licensed product sales have reached more than CNY¥700million.

"Mascots have accounted for 70 per cent of the total sales. 

"That shows people's love for the mascots, for Jiangnan Yi."

Du revealed that the total market development revenue had reached CNY¥5.316 billion (£605 million/$738 million/€700 million).

The Chinese official also claimed that Hangzhou 2022 had a sponsorship portfolio featuring 176 enterprises worth CNY¥4 billion (£455 million/$555 million/€526 million) which he said accounted for 83 per cent of the total marketing spend.

Hangzhou 2022 organisers claim that the sale of licensed products has earned them more than CNY¥700 million ©ITG
Hangzhou 2022 organisers claim that the sale of licensed products has earned them more than CNY¥700 million ©ITG

"Our marketing has always been open to the world but, in this process, we found that the Zhejiang local enterprises had a strong enthusiasm [for the Games]," said Du.

"Of all the 176 sponsoring enterprises, 107 of them are Zhejiang local enterprises.

"Zhejiang entrepreneurs love their hometown.

"They said, 'The Asian Games are on our doorstep, why should I miss it?'

"They have strong emotions towards their hometown."

Among the companies involved in the creation of products for the Asian Games is the Hangzhou Wensli Silk Culture Company.

"We developed over 100 products displaying the unique charm of Hangzhou silk," said Li Jianhua, chair of the Hangzhou Wensli Silk Culture Company.

"This silk ribbon is an important composition of the medal, lake and mountain.

"In terms of the fabrics, we created the Asian Games brocade.

"This brocade has the left-hand side as the gold and the right-hand side as silk, so brocade is like a silk which is as precious as gold, so this Asian Games brocade means the best silk."