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Nikkei Asia
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Nikkei Asia
How Labubu became a monster of a business
Caixin Monetizing a tale of furry female forest elves at least as old as the dinosaurs The auctioneer congratulates the winning bidder for a Labubu figurine at Yongle International Auction in Beijing on June 10. © Reuters WANG XINTONG, FENG YIMING and ZOU XIAOTONG, Caixin 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 the owner, trendy toy retailer Pop Mart International Group, up more than 180% this year.


Daily Mirror
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Freaky 4ft Labubu doll sells for more than £110,000 at auction
The Labubu craze has seen recent fights in POP MART stores; 235,984 mentions online; celebs like Dua Lipa, Rihanna and LISA sporting the bag-charm; and now a million yuan sale for a life-sized doll Labubu-mania has reached a new peak as a human-sized Labubu was recently sold at auction for a huge sum of 1.08 million yuan, equivalent to just over £110,000. Reported by a Chinese auction house, the 4ft4inches doll was bought at the Yongle International Auction in Beijing. At 131 cm, the life-size figuring was said to be the most expensive toy in the world by the auctioneer, reports the BBC. The monster dolls -turned-bag-charms were made by Kasing Lung, an artist from Hong Kong, and have seen a massive incline in popularity and sales, loved by children, Gen Z and celebrities alike. Sold mainly in Pop Mart for just over £5, the recent auction - which took place this week - saw that price multiplied by thousands. The auction included 48 items for sale and hosted 200 potential buyers, in total raining an enormous 3.37 million yuan - that's £349,000. The worldwide craze has seen fights break out between customers and staff, 'never-ending' queues and now a removal of the toys from Pop Mart shelves as they try to manage the insatiable demand for all things Labubu. Pop Mart informed fans on their official Instagram on May 19, saying: "Due to the increasing demand for our beloved Labubus, we've seen a significant rise in customer turnout on restock days – with long queues forming outside our stores and Roboshops. To ensure the safety and comfort of everyone, we will temporarily pause all in-store and roboshop sales of THE MONSTERS plush toys until further notice". Help us improve our content by completing the survey below. We'd love to hear from you! Celebrity sightings with the 'love-or-hate' bag charms include Rihanna, Dua Lipa and LISA. David Beckham has also tried the viral trend by posting a snap on Instagram showing a Labubu clipped to his bag. Their popularity appears to come down to one thing: not knowing which one you're going to get. The illusive mystery boxes are sold as "blind boxes" that excite buyers who wonder which one they are fated to get. The Labubu reveal has massively given rise to Pop Mart's success where the business' more than doubled their revenue for 2024, 13 billion yuan, £1,335,100,000. The stores have now opened in five additional countries such as Italy and Spain as of last year and have resulted in social research that found an increase of 273 percent of daily mentions since May 30. The research, done by Sprout Social also discovered that the viral dolls had accumulated a total of 235,984 mentions across social apps, proving they are here to stay.

Kuwait Times
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Kuwait Times
Labubu toy sculpture sold for $150,000 at China auction
Labubu toy sculpture sold for $150,000 at China auction A Beijing auction house has sold a four-foot-tall sculpture of a viral plush toy character for more than $150,000, as global demand for the Chinese-designed Labubu dolls reaches fever pitch. The rabbit-like figures sporting mischievous grins began as a character created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, and are made by Beijing-based toy brand Pop Mart. They have been endorsed by celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa, and fans have queued overnight outside stores hoping to snag one, with analysts pointing to the phenomenon as evidence of China's growing soft power. On Tuesday, a teal sculpture depicting a Labubu character with a furry body and head fetched an eye-watering 1.08 million yuan ($150,260) at an auction held in Beijing, according to the auction house's app. The sculpture is "the only piece of its kind in the world", according to Yongle International Auction. It was offered alongside other Labubu paraphernalia including a brown statue that sold for 820,000 yuan. Pop Mart has over 400 stores globally, including 30 US branches. The worldwide frenzy has seen people go to desperate lengths to acquire their own Labubu. Last month a London branch of Pop Mart suspended in-store sales of the toys, fearing violence from would-be buyers who failed to get their hands on the limited-edition Labubus. In Singapore, CCTV footage captured a family stealing Labubu dolls from a claw machine, according to Singaporean online media outlet AsiaOne. Burglars broke into a store in California last week and took several Labubu dolls along with electronics and other valuables, American news outlet ABC reported. In China, the toys have been promised as freebies for new bank customers -- an incentive quickly shut down by local regulators, according to Chinese media reports. The toys have spawned a booming resale market as well as an online community of fans sharing tips on how to customize their dolls. Knockoffs -- many of which are also made in China -- have flooded online platforms, dubbed "Lafufus" by social media users.--AFP


Daily Tribune
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Tribune
Labubu toy sculpture sold for $150,000 at China auction
A Beijing auction house has sold a four-foot-tall sculpture of a viral plush toy character for more than $150,000, as global demand for the Chinese-designed Labubu dolls reaches fever pitch. The rabbit-like figures sporting mischievous grins began as a character created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, and are made by Beijing-based toy brand Pop Mart. They have been endorsed by celebrities such as Rihanna and Dua Lipa, and fans have queued overnight outside stores hoping to snag one, with analysts pointing to the phenomenon as evidence of China's growing soft power. On Tuesday, a teal sculpture depicting a Labubu character with a furry body and head fetched an eye-watering 1.08 million yuan ($150,260) at an auction held in Beijing, according to the auction house's app. The sculpture is "the only piece of its kind in the world", according to Yongle International Auction. It was offered alongside other Labubu paraphernalia including a brown statue that sold for 820,000 yuan. Pop Mart has over 400 stores globally, including 30 US branches. The worldwide frenzy has seen people go to desperate lengths to acquire their own Labubu. Last month a London branch of Pop Mart suspended in-store sales of the toys, fearing violence from would-be buyers who failed to get their hands on the limited-edition Labubus. In Singapore, CCTV footage captured a family stealing Labubu dolls from a claw machine, according to Singaporean online media outlet AsiaOne. Burglars broke into a store in California last week and took several Labubu dolls along with electronics and other valuables, American news outlet ABC reported. In China, the toys have been promised as freebies for new bank customers -- an incentive quickly shut down by local regulators, according to Chinese media reports. The toys have spawned a booming resale market as well as an online community of fans sharing tips on how to customise their dolls.


Metro
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Huge 4ft Labubu doll sells at auction for £100,000
The popularity of Labubu dolls has reached new heights as a human-sized doll sold for more than £110,000. The dolls were created 10 years ago by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, but they've recently exploded in popularity. That's thanks in part to celebrities like Rihanna, Dua Lipa, K-pop star Lisa and even David Beckham posing for pictures and endorsing the toys. An auction at Yongle International Auction in Beijing this week was dedicated solely to Labubu, with 48 items put on sale. One of the lots was a 4ft 4in (131cm) Labubu doll, which sold for a record 1.08million yuan (£110,435), the auction house said. In total the auction house raised about 3.37million yuan (£345,000) from the weekly sale. Usually the dolls, sold by Chinese company Pop Mart, cost around 50yuan. But global demand for the toys has skyrocketed in recent weeks, with crowds forming outside shops and even physically fighting over the items. Pop Mart even had to pause Labubu sales in its 16 UK stores 'to prevent any potential safety issues' due to the overwhelming demand. More Trending This explosion in popularity has driven major success for Pop Mart, which made 13million yuan in 2024, more than double its revenue for the previous year. The brand opened shops in five new countries including Italy and Spain. Part of Labubu's success comes from selling the toys in 'blind boxes' – where shoppers only discover the design of the doll after buying the box and opening the packaging. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: We travelled 14,000km on Race Across the World — this is the one place everyone should visit MORE: Killer Asian needle ants are invading the US MORE: The dystopian megacity bigger than Scotland where 2,600,000 cameras are always watching