With more than two decades of experience in collectibles, gaming, retail products and distribution, and licensing, ECOMI CEO David Yu has a wealth of experience when it comes to transforming unique intellectual properties into globally-recognized products and brands.
As an avid collector (and thanks to an unusually late bout of chicken pox), David began his entrepreneurial journey at 14. His enterprising nature took him from re-selling stamps and phone cards, to the eventual purchase of liquidated stock, which included comics, collectibles, and Star Wars and Star Trek memorabilia- leading to the opening of his first collectibles store, Games R Us Ltd- at 17 years old.
Now, with 17 established companies under his belt, Yu has spent the past 20 years working with intellectual property, licensing and branding, and specialises in bringing new products to national and international markets- particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. Having been born in Taiwan and raised in New Zealand, the mild-mannered Yu has a unique insight into the Asian-pacific markets and has accrued a number of accolades to his name.
In 2004 and 2008 Yu was a finalist in the Ernst & Young New Zealand Entrepreneur of the Year award and was awarded the 2016 Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Australia New Zealand Chamber of Commerce Taipei.
One of his more prolific enterprises came with the establishment of Retail Management Group Ltd. (RMG) in 2006. Beginning as a wholesale and supply chain solution for manufacturing and distribution, RMG has evolved to distribute a range of products, from food and beverage to electronics, to cosmetics products, in Australia, New Zealand, China, and other Asian markets. The company also holds interests in interest in retail commercial property, manufacturing, exports, and publicly listed companies in the luxury goods sector, and was listed in 12th place in the “2014 Deloitte NZ 50 Fastest Growing Companies.”
With a number of affiliated companies across Asia and New Zealand, RMG also serves as a parent company for a number of Yu’s established businesses across gaming, collectibles, and entertainment (among others), including:
- Games R Us Ltd- incorporated in 2001 as New Zealand’s premier gaming supplier which owned and operates the Vagabond Games chain established since 1997
- Hobby Co Limited- an import, distribution and marketing company and industry leader in marketing solutions for the Trading Card Game segment.
- Livewire Games Limited- New Zealand’s largest owned and operated online gaming specialist store
- Vagabond Games Limited- currently New Zealand largest owned and operated gaming franchise store chain
David Yu X ECOMI
With more than 20 years in the industry, David has cemented some incredible relationships with international brands and intellectual properties, including Konami Games, Capcom, Games Workshop, Middle Earth, and Tokidoki, to name a few. In fact, thanks to his relationship with Alfred Kahn (now ECOMI’s head of licensing) David was the first person to bring some of the worlds biggest licenses to New Zealand and Australasia, including Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!
“The stronger the IP of the brand, the more valuable the surrounding products can be” — David Yu
Moreover, with his keen understanding of intellectual property licensing, branding and establishing new markets, David quickly recognised the potential of distributed ledger technologies to take his passion of collecting to new heights and Co-founded ECOMI with Dan Crothers (COO) and Joseph Janik (CIO).
Beginning with the Secure Wallet, ECOMI has expanded its vision to build the world’s best digital collectibles platform- ECOMI Collect- offering premium, licensed, digital content in an entirely new way. Coupled with the ECOMI Collect Digital Wallet- a retail product to securely store digital collectibles- the company is poised to revolutionise the way we receive and distribute collectible content and digital art.
“In all my years of collecting, the demand for collectables has never faded, but they have constantly changed mediums,” said Yu. “I believe that digital collectibles are only just emerging, and we will see it reach the same popularity as tangible collectibles.”
With ECOMI Collect due to launch in Q2 2019, the company is busy developing the app and securing additional licenses thanks to Yu’s impressive work ethic and business acumen. Upon launch, Collect will boast an impressive 15 international brands, licenses, and artist relationships (with more due not long after), leading to a myriad of new digital collectible content delivered right to your pocket.
Furthermore, as CEO, David actively represents ECOMI around the world, educating collectors and hobbyists on the new world of digital collecting; intellectual property owners/creators on the new opportunities that DLT provides; and introducing an entirely new audience to collecting, and international properties.
David’s passion and expertise are the driving force behind ECOMI’s continuing development and success, and with his guidance, we look forward to bringing the world the next evolution of collecto-mania!
About ECOMI
ECOMI is a technology company based in Singapore and is leading the way in the emerging digital collectibles space. ECOMI offers a one-stop-shop for digital collectibles through the VeVe app bringing pop culture and entertainment into the 21st century.
The VeVe app allows users to experience true ownership of premium digital collectibles. Through the app marketplace, users can obtain common, rare, or one-of-a-kind digital collectibles, share these across the social network service, and exchange them with the VeVe community, all from the palm of their hand.
ECOMI sees digital collectibles as a new asset class that offers intellectual property owners the opportunity for new revenue streams in the digital landscape. Digital streaming, gaming, and in-app purchasing have become a multibillion-dollar market and the next to join this digital trend is the pop culture and collectibles industry.
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