Latest news with #PopMartInternational
Bloomberg
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Bloomberg
Delulu Over Labubu? The Market Has Its Say
Save This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, a dramaturgical dollhouse of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions. Sign up here. I've avoided the global Labubu phenomenon for months, even since I saw the ugly creatures pop up on the social media feeds of addled influencers. But now the ever-astute Shuli Ren has taken note of the toy's enormous popularity and profitability— and how that very success betrays a weakness in the business plan of its Beijing-based manufacturer Pop Mart International Group Ltd. Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal
Independent Singapore
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Independent Singapore
A bunny made him a billionaire: Pop Mart's Labubu turned Wang Ning into China's youngest tycoon
CHINA: In the world of designer items, where a whimsical mind meets commerce, few stories are as astonishing and as pleasantly peculiar as that of Wang Ning and his business, Pop Mart. At age 38, Wang has soared into the exalted ranks of China's top 10 wealthiest individuals, and he owed it to the breakneck fame of a playful, rabbit-like character named Labubu. In the latest Forbes ' billionaire list, Wang now claims an overwhelming net worth of $22.7 billion, making him the 10th richest individual in China. His meteoric rise, according to a recent article published by Punchng , mirrors not only the financial triumph of the Pop Mart International Group but also the cultural sensation that the company has triggered worldwide. From niche to global craze Created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, Labubu isn't your archetypal fluffy mascot. With round, enlarged eyes manifesting an 'innocent gaze', shabby fur, and a 'nonchalant brashness,' the vinyl figure has found an improbable fan base extending from Asia to Europe to the U.S. The company's shares, traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, have risen threefold in 2025, now soaring above HK$270 ($34.40), driving Pop Mart's market value to a jaw-dropping HK$365 billion. 'This is more than just a toy—it's a cultural export,' according to Deutsche Bank analyst Jessie Xu in a recent note. 'It's rare for a comic or toy IP to break cultural walls so effectively, appealing to both Asian fans and Western pop culture icons.' Indisputably, Labubu's list of 'devotees' reads like a music holiday roster — Rihanna, Dua Lipa, and Lisa of Blackpink — have all been seen with Pop Mart's iconic figures, bolstering the brand's worldwide desirability and X-factor. Billionaire at play Wang Ning's journey is a masterclass in niche advertising and shrewd brand building. Established in 2010, Pop Mart began as a tiny Beijing store fixated on blind-box novelties — taped-up parcels that make the toy inside a surprise until unlocked. The idea swiftly progressed into a fever of swapping, selling, trading, collecting, and social media sharing, building a 'subculture' that is a lot different from that of streetwear or sneaker culture. Labubu took the company to another level. When the third edition showed up in April, scenarios at a London Pop Mart store looked like Black Friday havoc — fans pushed and shoved to grab the £13.50 to £50 toys, while others resold them online for hundreds. In Beijing, a full-size Labubu recently made 1.08 million yuan ($150,000) at a public sale, fortifying its position as a luxury collectible. Even banks took part in the fun, Ping An Bank offered Labubu dolls as an 'incentive' to new account holders who placed more than 50,000 yuan as a deposit. The promotional stunt was so effective, regulators noticed it and eventually stopped. Investors took note Pop Mart's spectacular upsurge hasn't gone unobserved on Wall Street. Deutsche Bank recently increased its price target for the stock by 52%, and Morgan Stanley followed, speculating on the brand's international growth. Labubu and Pop Mart's route is vastly different from the conventional path to affluence in China, such as real estate, tech, or manufacturing. Instead, Wang Ning proved that pop culture can be just as potent as an engine for progress. Now hobnobbing with giants like ByteDance founder Zhang Yiming, Nongfu Spring's Zhong Shanshan, and Tencent's Ma Huateng, Wang is the newest and youngest member of China's billionaire exclusive. However, unlike his equals, his domain didn't grow through data or drinks, but on a radiant, tiny rabbit with a grunge smile. As hoarders and fans queue for the next release of Labubu, its influence grows further, and one thing is clear — with the kind of global economy at present, quirkiness and wealth are, in reality, closely aligned.
Hans India
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hans India
Prefer Indian toys over Labudu
Toysare the ultimate fascination for every kid and sometimes to every person no matter one's age. There is no doubt that we all had a fascination for soft toys, especially dolls, which are among the most adorable parts of our childhood memories. From Barbie to traditional cloth doll of every region, soft toys are among the sweetest delights for many of us, and our children. But these days the world, as well as the internet, is obsessed with possessing the cute Chinese dolls named Labubu. Made by Pop Mart International, they are priced between Rs 3, 000 and a whopping Rs 1.50 lakh in India. Although the doll has been rolling in the Chinese market since 2015, it peaked due to K-Pop star Lisa, who fuelled their popularity, by showing it as her collection. Incidentally, from Hollywood stars like Rihanna and Justin Bieber to Bollywood actors like Annaya Pandey, many from the world of cinema are all obsessed with Labubu. Pop Mart International minted millions by selling the miniature fashion-sensation dolls. To the avant-garde marketing tactics, Pop Mart International uses blind box selling strategies for their life-sized dolls branded as luxury collectibles. In an unfortunate development, its rising popularity and heavy export orders have been directly sponging the potential revenue of Indian toy industry to China. This is more so because many Indians are taking pride in owning Labubu. Earlier on, Chinese products shattered Indian toy industry by introducing cheap toys or exclusive luxury collections. Instead of supporting state-of-the-art home grown toys like Thanjavur dolls, Channapatna dolls or Kondapalli dolls, many of us are getting influenced by the viral social media trends and going in for a Labubu doll in our drawing room. Luxury obsession with Indian dolls could help turn the tide and fortunes of our local toys' makers. All we need is to love Indian toys as much as we do the new sensation Labubu. We need to support Indian toys startups and local makers and boost the economic conditions of the Indian toy industry, which is facing severe challenges from Labubu and other luxury toys collectibles of foreign brands. Like 'Make in India', we should also promote Indian workmanship. Kirti Wadhawan,Kanpur Nagar (UP)
Wall Street Journal
20-06-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Labubu Maker's Shares Drop as Chinese State Media Signal Tighter Scrutiny
Shares in Pop Mart International 9992 -5.63%decrease; red down pointing triangle, the maker of the wildly popular Labubu dolls, took a hit after Chinese state media signaled stricter regulation over 'blind-box' toys. Pop Mart's Hong Kong-listed shares fell as much as 6.2% Friday morning before paring losses.
Business Times
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Times
How Pop Mart's Labubu became a monster of a business
LABUBU is a little doll in fleecy, bunny-eared onesies whose coffee-bean eyes hover above a serrated row of smiling teeth. Ostensibly an elf, the creature is either cute or creepy, depending on whom you ask. But one thing is clear – it has become a monster of a business. The dolls have been caught on camera with celebrities such as Rihanna and K-pop superstar Lisa, typically dangling from the strap of a designer bag. Their popularity has propelled the stock of its owner, trendy toy retailer Pop Mart International, more than 180 per cent higher this year. Pop Mart's market value of over HK$350 billion (S$57.4 billion) makes it the world's third most valuable intellectual property (IP) company, behind only The Walt Disney Company and Nintendo. The toy reached a cultural milestone on June 10, when a Labubu figure was sold at an auction for more than 1.2 million yuan (S$214,960), including commission, setting a new record for the brand. The auction followed several successful sales of Labubu items, including one that fetched more than HK$200,000 at Sotheby's Hong Kong in late May. Labubu has been crucial to Pop Mart's success, with the toy line it belongs to accounting for nearly a quarter of the company's total revenue last year. The toy has spawned bidding wars, unruly lines outside stores, and a minor controversy at a Chinese bank. Its rise serves as a case study in how to turn a character no one had heard of 10 years ago into the must-have toy of the year. Pop Mart's strategy employed a shrewd mix of cultivating exclusive IP, creating scarcity, leveraging social media, and introducing a bit of gamble into the purchasing of its products. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up The phenomenon shows China's growing potential to produce global money spinners from its cultural creations. Labubu's success echoes that of Black Myth: Wukong, the Chinese-made video game released in 2024 that became one of the fastest-selling titles of all time. 'The rise of China's trendy toy IP reflects the same trend as the global breakout of Chinese entertainment content in recent years. This phenomenon underscores China's growing national strength, particularly the rising competitiveness of its cultural industries,' said Fan Junhao, chief analyst for consumer discretionary at Huatai Securities. The making of a monster Labubu is the creation of Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, who came up with the creatures in 2015 for his book series 'The Monsters'. Lung gave them a simple backstory. Labubu are forest-dwelling elves whose existence dates back millions of years, at least to the time of the dinosaurs. They number about 100 and are all female. In 2019, the artist signed an agreement with Pop Mart, granting the company exclusive rights to produce and sell toy versions of the storybook sprites, launching Labubu under its 'The Monsters' series. Much like there is more than one Labubu in Lung's story, there are a variety of Labubu toys on Pop Mart's shelves. The main difference is in the colouring, with different Labubu sporting a different colour of bunny-eared onesie, though the eyes, nose and teeth can also be colored differently. A Labubu figure and Labubu stickers are seen at a Pop Mart shop in Beijing. A Beijing auction house sold a Labubu figure for over US$150,000, as global demand for the dolls reaches fever pitch. PHOTO: AFP Some Labubu are rarer than others. One particularly sought-after version sports a charcoal grey onesie and a distinctive set of rainbow-colored teeth. Pop Mart sells the Labubu in 'blind boxes', so that buyers don't know which one they are getting until they tear open the packaging. This drives sales as it leaves particularly fanatical Labubu fans with no other choice than to keep buying the toy until they get the Labubu in their preferred colour of onesie. The toy was not an overnight hit. The dolls were originally made of hard vinyl, but sales started to pick up once Pop Mart started selling Labubu plush toys on key rings and as larger dolls in 2023. The watershed moment came the following year, when Lisa, the Thai member of the K-pop girl group Blackpink, repeatedly showcased her collection of Labubu plushies on social media. A buying frenzy began across South-east Asia. The impact was immediate. Pop Mart's revenue from 'The Monsters' series grew more than eightfold in 2024, making up 23.3 per cent of its total revenue, according to the company's financial report. Its plushie sales, spearheaded by Labubu, skyrocketed 1,289 per cent. South-east Asia emerged as Pop Mart's largest international market, contributing nearly half of total overseas revenue, which surged 375 per cent to nearly 5.1 billion yuan. Labubu's popularity is especially evident in Thailand. Outside Pop Mart's three-storey flagship store in Bangkok's bustling Siam Square, security guards watched over lines of customers on June 6. 'Around 500 tourists come each day just for Labubu, mostly Thais and Chinese', said a store employee. The employee said that Labubu plushies were sold out at every brick-and-mortar Pop Mart in the country. The unmet demand has created a grey market of unauthorized Labubu dealers. Just 50 meters from the official store, a tiny, unnamed shop stocks nearly every kind of Labubu – some priced at more than twice the official retail price. At the shop, one Chinese customer dropped more than 9,000 baht (S$353) on Labubu in a matter of minutes. Another customer, a tourist in his 50s, said he had no choice but to pay scalper prices to secure a Labubu for his daughter. 'The official store had nothing left,' he said. The Labubu fever has spread beyond South-east Asia. After pop superstar Rihanna was spotted with a pink Labubu hanging from her designer bag at an Los Angeles airport in February, the US and the UK got caught up in the frenzy. The release of the third-generation Labubu plushies two months later led to viral reports of overnight lines and fights breaking out among desperate customers outside Pop Mart stores. The toy's popularity has even impacted the Chinese banking industry, of all places. Caixin learned that several branches of Ping An Bank had to suspend a promotion that offered free Labubu toys as rewards for opening new accounts following discussions that the giveaway might be a violation of banking rules. Financial institutions in southeastern China have recently received regulatory reminders about the ban on attracting deposits with gifts, sources told Caixin. However, it remains unclear whether these warnings were related to the Labubu promotions. The game plan Pop Mart follows a three-part business model employed by many Chinese toy retailers, which blends premium IP with gamified retail and social media dissemination, the analyst Fan said. Under the model, companies either create original IP or acquire and manage existing properties, ensuring their products meet premium quality standards, Fan said. With strong IP as the cornerstone, they then turn buying their products into a kind of game. The randomness of the blind boxes sparks online discussions and a desire among customers to keep buying so they can collect an entire series of products. This also generates a secondary market driven by scarcity and rising value of the products among collectors. The third component is social media amplification, Fan said, explaining that companies leverage celebrity endorsements and encourage user-generated content such as memes to create a trend with mass-market appeal. An auctioneer congratulates the buyer who won the bid for a Labubu figurine, during an auction by Yongle International Auction in Beijing on June 10. PHOTO: REUTERS 'Lisa played a significant role in propelling Labubu into the mainstream,' said a designer specialising in trendy toy IP. 'Celebrity endorsements remain the most effective breakthrough strategy – a tried-and-tested approach drawn from the luxury sector.' In addition, unlike hard vinyl figures, the plush versions of Labubu possess a more inherent 'social' quality, and added straps make it easier for celebrities to wear and display them, the designer said, noting that, like Pop Mart, many toy companies are now developing their own 'fuzzy' collectible lines to leverage celebrity influence and drive sales. While Chinese brands have only recently perfected this approach, it has a long track record of success for global toy brands such as Kaws, Bearbrick and Jellycat, said Fan, who emphasised the model allows customers to be more than mere buyers, but content creators as well. Toy companies ought to evolve beyond being simple manufacturers or distributors, Fan said. Rather, they should become IP operating platforms, or even content creation companies. Chen Chufang, a former IP specialist for a toy company, believes that for an IP to become popular globally, it needs more than celebrity endorsements. It's just as important to have high-profile retail stores abroad. 'Opening a standout collectible toy store overseas makes a far bigger impact than doing so in China,' he said. By the end of 2024, Pop Mart had opened 130 stores overseas, locating most of them in prominent spots like Oxford Street in London and the Louvre in Paris, making it the first Chinese toy brand to enter the iconic museum. 'Previously, overseas IP derivatives were expensive. But now, Chinese companies are reaching overseas customers with relatively reasonable pricing and the novelty of blind boxes, while putting stores in core local commercial districts. They are becoming disruptors,' Chen said. CAIXIN GLOBAL
