The Chinese Elph Labubu doll created a toy revolution by making Pop Mart more expensive than the American giants Hasbro (Transformers manufacturer) and Mattel (Barbie Creator) combined. According to Financial Times, the Pop Mart market capitalization reached $ 40 billion, turning it into one of the leaders of the world toy market.
Success came not only through design: Labubu sales have become a global cultural phenomenon, causing stores, product shortages and speculation in the secondary market. The annual sales of the company reached $ 2 billion, and almost 40% of profits come from outside China. Labubu - a fluffy creature with big eyes and elfi ears - became the main face of the Monster collection. Its popularity has led to the fact that Pop Mart has taken off 6 times in the last year, and the sales of the series have increased eight times.
Pop Mart is also facilitated by the sales strategy: "Blind boxes", the content of which the buyer will only know after opening. This creates excitement, stimulates repeated purchases and activates the secondary market, where rare figures are three times more expensive than the official price. Pop Mart is actively expanding abroad. At the end of 2024, it already had 130 stores and 192 machines with toys in the US, Europe and Southeast Asia. However, demand sometimes grows into chaos: because of buyers' clashes, the company has suspended sales - in London and Seoul.
Analysts warn that addiction to one character can be a risk. To maintain the growth rate, Pop Mart will have to bring new strong images to the market. However, the first steps are already successful: Crybaby line sales have increased 16 times, accounting for almost 10% of the company's annual income.
