Peng Xilang, CEO of Comic Avenue Photo: Courtesy of Comic Avenue

As China continues to wield more influence on the world stage, the Chinese culture is becoming more prominent overseas with the animation industry being an important medium through which China showcases its rich culture.

Animation in modern times has become an art form that is seen as representing a country's or a region's cultural elements and connotations. It is not surprising therefore that China's animation industry has developed considerably in recent years.

Comic Avenue, the largest distributor and one of the most influential animation brands in China, has played a vital role in developing the animation industry. Peng Xilang, CEO of Comic Avenue, has witnessed the industry's achievements and steady progression since joining the company in 1999. When it comes to Comic Avenue, Peng expressed his pride and satisfaction with the brand's work.

"In China, we first put forward the 'anime chain' concept. In the past decade, the Chinese animation industry has gradually formed a preliminary scale, and we are unceasingly becoming more mature," said Peng.

Comic Avenue has become a bridge joining upriver animation-manufacturing companies and downstream animation production companies. Comic Avenue now has over 1,000 chain stores in China, with each store employing professionals trained by Comic Avenue to deal with products, market operations and management.

Simultaneously, every year, Comic Avenue hosts large-scale cartoon and comic shows in different cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Kunshan in Jiangsu Province and Rizhao in Shandong Province.

"We customize a set of complete personal development plans for every franchisee. Our purpose is not just to make the franchisees' job more simple, but to help them start their own animation business," explained Peng.

"We even let franchisees return to their hometown to develop their local animation culture. They say 'a single spark can start a prairie fire,' and I believe that not too long from now, the cultural creative industry will spread to every corner [of China]," added Peng.

Comic Avenue has further opened their resources to the public with the development of their 518 dm Internet platform, which offers designers the opportunity to design animated characters online. The 518 dm, which will be officially launched in May 2015, will focus on Comic Avenue's four fashion elements: animation, game, originality and intelligence.

"Every creative fan can show their creative work through our Internet platform. Once the design forms into a product and is accepted by the market, the 518 dm will make a designer's vision turn into money," said Peng. "It is an era of innovation. Our platform will help people with an innovative dream achieve their wishes and make innovation itself realize its own value."

This continuous desire of Comic Avenue to keep developing and improving their products is a work ethic that Peng shares and helps spread throughout the company. Peng believes that every team is just like an army, and every employee must have a high morale and a spirit of dedication for the cause. "I hope that all employees have their own values, and that they are responsible for their work. Only by this, can our army be the winner," he said.