万代开始在中国市场打价格战？

Bandai Gundam models are seeing broad price reductions across the Chinese market, making this a better time to buy — but choosing the right channel still matters.

1. Price-cut announcement: Starting September 23, 2026, Gundam Base physical stores and Bandai's official e-commerce channels will cut prices across all non-limited assembly Gundam models. Limited editions were already discounted in April, so together the two rounds mean official channels now offer lower prices across the entire Gundam model lineup.

2. Reduction scope: There is no uniform discount rate. Non-limited general-release models are down roughly 20% to 25%, while limited editions are down about 11% to 19%. Even after the cuts, official channel prices remain slightly higher than those of third-party shops and proxy buyers. If you want to save more, third-party channels are still worth comparing; if you want limited items or guaranteed authenticity, go with official stores.

3. Entry-level newcomer: Bandai has also introduced the JOYACTIVA series of Gundam assembly kits at 9.9 yuan, lowering the barrier to entry so that even people new to model building can try it.

Bandai is transforming its official channel in China from a place for experiential visits into a core sales channel, using price cuts and affordable new products to reshape its brand competitiveness.

1. Channel expansion: Bandai is accelerating Gundam Base store growth, opening 2 stores in 2024, 10 in 2025, and 5 by September 2026, for a total of 19. It has also brought official e-commerce into the discount system, creating online-offline synergy and significantly raising the sales role of official channels.

2. Pricing logic: Official retail prices were set based on production costs, import taxes, margins, and limited-edition premiums, making them persistently higher than third-party channels and leading to high foot traffic but low conversion. The core purpose of the price cuts is to narrow this gap and turn in-store experience advantages into actual sales.

3. Product development: In July 2026, Bandai launched the 9.9-yuan JOYACTIVA series, an ultra-low-priced assembly product that lowers the entry barrier and reaches consumers who have never touched Gundam. The cuts do not involve changes to configuration, craftsmanship, or packaging; Bandai is competing on price rather than product refresh.

4. Consumer trends: Domestic mecha brands have risen with strong craftsmanship and high cost-performance, capturing newcomers while also drawing experienced players. Bandai's price cuts and affordable new products are a clear defensive-counterattack move.

Bandai's across-the-board price cuts bring both price pressure and market expansion for third-party sellers and proxy channels, requiring strategic adjustments.

1. Risk alert: Official channels have cut prices on both limited and non-limited products across physical stores and official e-commerce, which will divert some price-sensitive customers. But official prices after cuts still remain above third-party and proxy channels, so third-party sellers still have room to operate. They should watch closely whether the official side keeps adjusting prices.

2. Opportunity alert: Bandai is accelerating store openings and launching a 9.9-yuan assembly product, which is likely to lower the entry threshold for the whole assembly model category, attract more new players, and expand the market. Sellers can introduce such entry-level items and capture the follow-up purchase demand of new users.

3. Response suggestions: Continue to leverage price and convenience advantages, while strengthening authenticity guarantees and service experience. At the same time, the rise of domestic model brands enriches the range of high cost-performance products, so sellers can adjust their product mix and reduce reliance on a single brand.

Bandai's price cuts and affordable new products signal new production and design requirements for assembly models, and also create opportunities for factories.

1. Production demands: Bandai's price cuts do not involve changes to product configuration, craftsmanship, or packaging, indicating that the cuts are mainly achieved through supply chain and channel optimization. Contract manufacturers need to place more emphasis on cost control and delivery efficiency.

2. Design opportunity: The 9.9-yuan JOYACTIVA series proves there is clear demand for ultra-low-price entry products. Factories can develop low-cost, easy-to-assemble, high value-for-money runner structures to serve brands' mass-market product lines.

3. Competitive insight: Domestic mecha models are rising with strong craftsmanship and high cost-performance, taking away many players. When working with domestic brands, factories must balance build quality and cost to stay competitive.

4. Channel support: Bandai's offline store expansion and simultaneous operation of official e-commerce will drive demand for display fixtures, packaging logistics, and capacity planning. Factories can prepare related service capabilities in advance.

Bandai's official-channel price cuts and channel transformation reveal the brand's pain points in experience conversion and channel coordination, offering many entry points for service providers.

1. Client pain point: Gundam Base stores have long been attractive to browse but carried high prices, so many in-store visitors did not convert into buyers, with spending flowing to third-party and proxy channels. The brand needs to narrow price gaps and improve conversion efficiency — an area service providers can specifically address.

2. Solution opportunity: Demand for integrated channel pricing and unified online-offline operations is rising. Service providers can offer pricing strategy, membership systems, digital tools, and store operations solutions to help brands turn traffic into sales.

3. New direction: Bandai is using a 9.9-yuan low-priced product for customer acquisition, showing it values user lifecycle cultivation. Service providers can design experience activities, content marketing, and community operations around entry-level users to extend follow-up consumption.

4. Industry trend: With the rise of domestic mecha brands, assembly models are moving from collector's items to mass consumer goods. The category boundary for service providers is expanding, and more domestic new brands may become clients.

Bandai has simultaneously adjusted prices at offline stores and official e-commerce, raising new operational requirements for e-commerce platforms and offline commercial complexes.

1. Latest platform approach: Bandai has for the first time included official e-commerce in an across-the-board price cut, indicating the brand wants consistent online and offline pricing to prevent consumers from comparing channels and leaving. Platforms need to support a unified price structure and coordinate promotional activities and traffic with the adjustment pace.

2. Merchants/recruitment insight: Bandai is accelerating store openings and has reached 19 stores total. Commercial complexes can pay attention to the foot traffic that licensed IP experience formats bring, especially limited launches, themed exhibitions, and on-site assembly experiences.

3. Risk mitigation: Official price cuts will impact third-party channels. Platforms should prepare for price comparison, complaints, or cross-channel selling issues by establishing clear pricing rules and authenticity protection mechanisms to reduce channel conflict.

4. Operational direction: Even after price cuts, official channel prices remain higher than external channels. Platforms can bridge the gap through platform subsidies, member points, or exclusive gifts to boost conversion within the platform.

Bandai's shift from partial price adjustments to across-the-board price cuts in China is a typical strategic case of an international brand facing a new competitive landscape.

1. New industry movement: Between 2024 and 2026, Bandai adjusted prices nearly ten times, moving from fine-tuning on selected products and stores to covering limited and non-limited lines, and for the first time including official e-commerce in the discount system. The official channel is transitioning from experience display to a core sales channel.

2. Competitive landscape: Domestic mecha models and domestic building blocks are rising quickly, winning beginners and experienced players alike through craftsmanship and high cost-performance. This has forced Bandai to lower prices and launch a 9.9-yuan affordable product, showing the market has shifted from seller-dominated to buyer-dominated.

3. Business model problem: Official stores have long suffered from being attractive to visit but relatively expensive, creating a dual-track pricing system alongside third-party and proxy channels. Even after the cuts, a price gap remains, reflecting a structural contradiction between branded direct operations and distribution systems.

4. Implications and suggestions: Future research could examine the official pricing mechanisms of imported goods, unified channel control, and platform price governance, as well as the long-term impact of low-priced entry products on expanding the consumer base, providing references for brand channel strategy.