Angry Birds, which recently opened a virtual store at Chinese online shopping website Tmall.com, has confirmed plans to venture into China’s physical market.

Finland-based creator of the Angry Birds phenomenon Rovio Entertainment plans to counter piracy of its products by setting up a strong physical presence in China. In the coming two years, as many as 600 retail stores will open across China.

“We have some issues with piracy, not only in apps, but also especially in consumer products,” said CEO Mikael Hed. “There are tons and tons of merchandise out there, especially in Asia, which are not officially licensed products.”

Initially, the first stores will open in Shanghai and Beijing before summer. Angry Birds themed products including T-shirts, chocolates and stuffed toys are among the items to be stocked.

According to Rovio Entertainment, China follows the US as the fastest growing market for the game characters. More than 100 million Angry Birds game apps had been downloaded in China by mid-February.

Rovio Entertainment, which opened first Angry Birds retail store in Helsinki, Finland in November last year, aims for revenues of more than US$100 million this year.

GB