Pop Mart’s Performance Surged 362.8% in the First Half of 2025
Recently, the “Labubu” IP of the Chinese trendy toy brand Pop Mart has become a global sensation, garnering attention from numerous foreign media outlets.
In May of this year, a physical altercation erupted outside the Pop Mart store in Stratford, London, as people lined up to buy Labubu blind boxes. Videos of screaming, shoving, and even physical violence quickly spread across social media, eventually trending globally. To prevent escalation, Pop Mart urgently announced the temporary removal of the Labubu series from all UK stores for safety reasons. CNBC reported that despite the global trade disruptions caused by US tariffs, fans continue to line up at Pop Mart stores around the world to buy the doll.
This little monster, named Labubu, with its pointed ears and nine fangs, originally cost £13 for a blind box, but has been sold for over £100 on eBay, a nearly eightfold premium, and remains in high demand. A Deutsche Bank analysis report states that few IPs can break through cultural barriers, being simultaneously embraced by Asian culture and beloved by Western pop music and sports stars.
This plush emoji, with its “ugly-cute” design and precise marketing strategy, quickly gained popularity in North America, expanding from Southeast Asia. In the first quarter of 2025, it achieved record revenue growth of 895%-900% in the Americas and 600%-605% in Europe. On August 19th, Pop Mart released its 2025 semi-annual report. In the first half of this year, Pop Mart’s revenue increased by 204.4% year-on-year; adjusted net profit increased by 362.8% year-on-year; and its gross profit margin reached 70.3%, a 6.3 percentage point increase year-on-year.
The Reasons Behind Pop Mart’s Booming Popularity
Celebrity Effect and Social Fission
The public wearing of LABUBU by international celebrities like Lisa of the Korean girl group BLACKPINK and American pop queen Rihanna has propelled LABUBU to the top of social media trending charts. By sponsoring TikTok influencer unboxing challenges and Instagram hashtag campaigns, Pop Mart has transformed the “surprise economy” of blind boxes into social currency among young people, fostering a fission-like spread.
Blind Box Mechanism and Tiered Pricing
Pop Mart’s blind box design precisely taps into the established collecting culture of Europe and the United States. The entry-level price of $20 lowers the purchase threshold, while hidden editions with a 0.69% probability of scarcity encourage repeat purchases. Co-branded items (such as the Van Gogh Museum series) leverage artistic influence to enhance premium pricing. Data shows that American trendy toy enthusiasts spend an average of $327 annually. Pop Mart’s blind box model has increased user lifetime value (LTV) to more than three times that of traditional toys.
From Cultural Export to Emotional Resonance
Pop Mart has adopted a “high-profile” strategy in the European and American markets: its Times Square flagship store in New York achieved single-day sales exceeding $500,000. Its Louvre store in Paris created a cultural check-in scene with art collaborations. Limited editions like the Spanish bullfighter LABUBU incorporate local cultural narratives. This “global IP + localized expression” strategy elevates trendy toys from commodities into emotional vehicles, creating cross-cultural resonance.
The Other Side of Pop Mart’s Hotness
The Top IP May Be Sweet Poison
IP is Pop Mart’s core asset and a key source of its competitive advantage. The success of LABUBU is undoubtedly the biggest contributor to Pop Mart’s first-half performance. However, The Latest Trends believes that over-reliance on a single hit IP may also be Pop Mart’s sweetest poison.
It’s well known that the popularity of trendy toy IPs is often short-lived and generally has a short lifespan. Pop Mart must strive to maintain the popularity of its existing popular IPs while continuously investing in the development of new IPs. If LABUBU’s popularity declines due to consumer fatigue or new trends, Pop Mart’s performance will face the risk of a precipitous decline. Countless consumer brands have historically been devastated by the decline of their core hits.
The Two Sides of Expansion
In the first half of the year, Pop Mart’s transportation and logistics expenses soared 543.4% from US$17 million in the same period of 2024 to US$109 million, far exceeding revenue growth. Business expansion in Southeast Asia, Europe, and the United States was primarily responsible.
There are two key considerations behind this rapid expansion. First, how much room for further expansion is there? Second, can management capabilities keep pace? Rapid store openings can lead to decreased efficiency per store and rising rental costs. If a regional market performs below expectations, the losses from store closures and the negative impact on the brand will be immeasurable.
Regulation and Public Opinion
As a business model, blind boxes are always under regulation. Any changes in industry policies in the future may restrict the company’s pricing strategy, sales scenarios, and marketing methods, thereby affecting gross profit margins and revenue. Furthermore, blind box card draws, due to their gambling and addictive nature, have always been prone to public criticism. When the blind box industry becomes a social phenomenon, it can also easily become the subject of public controversy, causing stock price fluctuations.
In short, Pop Mart has proven itself to be a profitable company, but whether it can become a great company with sustainable development remains to be seen.
