Pop Mart

Pop Mart is a Chinese toy company listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange. The company is known for selling collectable 'designer' toys, often sold in a ' blind box' format. They offer toys of their in-house IPs, such as Labubu, Pucky, Molly, Skullpanda, and others; in partnership with co-branded promotions, such as Disney characters or Harry Potter. It is based in Beijing.

The ''Financial Times'' described the company as having "elevated toy-buying to an act of trendy connoisseurship among China's young affluent consumers", and as having been 'credited with creating the market for so-called designer toys'.

Around half of its sales are made at physical outlets, with the rest finished online. The company additionally operates a social media and toy-trading app as part of its marketing strategy. Its toys are known for selling to collectors on the second-hand market; venture capital firms have been known to invest in its second-hand products.

History

The company was founded in China in 2010 by Wang Ning. The brand's initial marketing strategy engaged with youth culture trends in China, selling toys in prices in a range between 29 and 89 yuan. Over time it grew to 288 outlets and 1800 vending machines in that country. Its success in the 'blind box' format drove a $676m USD listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2020 giving it a market capitalisation of $7b at the time, and doubling its shares value after the first day of going public. However its revenue growth slowed and its shares slid below offer price.

The company later expanded its growth strategy beyond mainland Chinese markets, with the Financial Times reporting on plans in 2022 to open between 40 and 50 overseas outlets. It first expanded to the U.S., New Zealand, Australia, South Korea, and Taiwan, and the U.K. in 2022. In 2023 it expanded to Malaysia and France. In 2024, it opened its Philippines store. Some equity analysts have expressed scepticism at the company's ability to expand into the West, while executives of the company have described developing that growth market as the company's 'most important development focus'; and argued that the company's product offering is differentiated from existing western markets.

The success of the company has spawned multiple imitating blind box toy companies in China.

Products and stores

In China, the toys are sold for typically between 59 and 69 RMB each, in a 'blind box' format credited with 'driving repeated purchases from customers seeking to secure the rarest collectables'. Its customers in China are typically affluent teenagers and young adults.

The company works with designers and artists to develop characters. In 2021 it released a collection themed around the U.S. artist Keith Haring, and has collaborated with Moncler. Their main characters include Pucky, Ayan, and SKULLPANDA.

One of their product series, such as The Monster Series, like Labubu and Zimomo, they gained popularity in 2024 after Lisa, a member of the South Korean girl group, Blackpink, uploaded a photo of herself holding the doll on her Instagram account.

Blind boxes

Pop Mart experienced growth and expansion due to its blind boxes. Research has shown that scarcity results in increased competition; the "blind" aspect of Pop Mart's most popular products creates an "artificial scarcity" environment that has been inferred by researchers to contribute to the global success of the company. In 2023 alone, Pop Mart revealed to have made $165m in net profits, with the main revenue coming in from the blind boxes of popular characters such as SKULLPANDA, MOLLY, and DIMOO. Researchers have attributed the success behind blind boxes to psychological factors such as "herd mentality" and "gambler's mentality" Success is also attributed to the fact that the majority of consumers are Millennials and Generation Z, with researchers speculating that younger generations hold greater attachment to material objects and, as a result, are the target demographic for blind boxes.

Featured artists and characters

Artists are listed in the order they are presented on Pop Mart's website:

Stores

The company has both staffed outlets, as well as vending machines known as 'roboshops'.

In the United States, there are 37 staffed outlets (as of June 2025) and 52 'roboshops'.

Apps

The company has launched social media apps as a means to promote its products. In December 2021 it launched 'Pop Mart Global' in the United States.

Controversy

In recent times, the company has been increasingly regulated; within China, the company has come under domestic regulatory pressure after regulators banned the sale of mystery boxes to children under eight years; and required guardian consent for older children. In Singapore, a S$100 prize limit on mystery boxes has been proposed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

References

{{Reflist

Toy companies of China
Chinese companies established in 2010
Toy companies established in 2010
Companies listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
2020 initial public offerings
Companies based in Beijing