Pop Mart established itself as the world’s most valuable toy producer and exporter of China’s “soft power” after the global phenomenon of its Labubu plush toys and figurines drove overseas revenue to soar fivefold in the first half.
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Online and in-store revenue outside mainland China jumped to 5.59 billion yuan (US$778 million) in the first six months, making up about 40 per cent of the Beijing-based group’s total interim sales of 13.88 billion yuan, which beat analysts’ estimates, Pop Mart said on Tuesday.
North and South America made up the second-biggest overseas market for the 15-year-old company, with revenue jumping more than tenfold to 2.3 billion yuan. That was second only to the Asia-Pacific region, where sales rose 258 per cent to 2.85 billion yuan. Europe’s contribution surged sevenfold to 477.7 million yuan.
Founded by Wang Ning in 2010 with the idea of selling toys in so-called blind boxes that hide the content in opaque wrappings, Pop Mart has grown from a seller of plush toys and fridge magnets in Beijing’s Zhongguancun area to the world’s biggest toy company by value. Its market capitalisation as of Tuesday is HK$377.1 billion (US$48.3 billion), bigger than several toymakers combined: Hasbro of Transformers fame, Mattel the maker of Barbie and Sanrio of Hello Kitty.
Its best-known product is Labubu, an elfin figure with a toothy grin designed by the Hong Kong-born artist Lung Ka-sing. It alone made up 35 per cent of Pop Mart’s interim sales. Its popularity had been given a leg up by celebrity endorsements displayed on social media by Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, David Beckham, Awkwafina and Lisa of the girl band Blackpink since April.
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