Pop Mart is not just 'Pop Mart'

To say who is the hottest in the trendy toy world right now, if Pop Mart claims to be the first, probably no one dares to claim second. Whether it's the high price Labubu fetched at a Hong Kong auction or the soaring stock price of Pop Mart, it can be said that these are direct proofs of its explosive popularity. So, we can't help but ask, how does a company founded by a post-85 Henan native have such a huge influence, and what nerves of the current market has Pop Mart hit behind its popularity?

To answer these questions, perhaps we still need to find answers in Pop Mart's kingdom of dolls. The dazzling array of dolls from Pop Mart, and the huge fan base behind these dolls, especially the young fan base, is undoubtedly the key to its huge achievements today. If we regard Mixue Bingcheng, also founded by a Henan native, as a classic business example of winning the market with new tea drinks, then Pop Mart is another successful business example created with the power of new IP.

Finding the internal logic behind Pop Mart's explosive popularity is not only beneficial for the transformation and upgrading of enterprises but also has certain reference significance for the new consumer industry that is undergoing transformation and upgrading.

Pop Mart, capturing the hearts of young users

In the new consumer market, almost all players who have gained the favor of the younger generation of consumers have developed well. The same is true for Pop Mart. If we want to find the internal logic behind Pop Mart's popularity, capturing the hearts of a large number of young users, especially establishing emotional recognition among young users, may be the main aspect worth our attention.

Data shows that Pop Mart's core users, Generation Z (born between 1995 and 2009), account for more than 70%, with ages concentrated between 18-35, mainly young white-collar workers and students in first-tier and new first-tier cities. Through analysis, it is not difficult to see that first, this consumer group has experienced the baptism of the Internet era, has a relatively complete understanding of Pop Mart's IP, and has a high degree of recognition for Pop Mart, with no acceptance barriers; second, behind this consumer group is actually connected to thousands of new middle-class families, and their consumption level is actually a reflection of the consumption base of these new middle-class families; third, for this group, they pay more attention to emotional value and emotional recognition when consuming.

Through the above analysis, Pop Mart's user structure dominated by young users supports its huge business empire, once again confirming the business law in the new consumer market that winning young people is winning the world. For players who want to make a difference in the new consumer market, finding the preferences and likes of young people and developing products that are suitable for the market may be what they really need to do during the transformation and upgrading period of new consumption.

Pop Mart, beyond the product itself

When looking at Pop Mart, just focusing on the product itself actually greatly underestimates its value and significance. Just as when we look at the mint green limited edition Labubu that was auctioned for 1.08 million, just looking at the value of the product itself, it is completely impossible to understand why it has such a high value. From this perspective, the reason why Pop Mart is so popular and has such a high heat is more because its value is not only reflected in the product itself but more in the additional value attached to the product itself.

First, in Pop Mart, we see the star effect attached to the product. Take Labubu as an example, in April 2024, Thai star Lisa's selfie wearing LABUBU earrings went viral on INS, and then under the embrace of Thai consumers, LABUBU was "hard to find" in official channels in mainland China; in February 2025, pop diva Rihanna was photographed at Los Angeles airport with a pink LABUBU "bag buddy," which netizens jokingly called "LABUBU's success in America"; in April 2025, Oscar-winning actress Cate Blanchett received a LABUBU from fans during a performance in London, and this "Little Milan" LABUBU, which she always held in front of her, became known as "the pride of the door" among netizens...

Second, in Pop Mart, we see the IP effect attached to the product itself. For example, in 2018, Pop Mart signed with Disney to launch the first licensed IP trendy toy series "Mickey Family Sit Sit" series to the market, and since then, Pop Mart has gradually begun to incorporate licensed IP into the IP matrix for series development; for example, in the Spring Festival of 2025, Pop Mart released the "Nezha 2" Born Bond series of blind box figures, and the sales exceeded 10 million yuan in 8 days; in addition, Pop Mart has also established cooperative relationships with dozens of copyright holders such as Warner, Universal, Sanrio, and NBA.

Again, in Pop Mart, we also see the value beyond the product itself. Also taking Labubu as an example, in June 2025, several newly established companies were named "Labubu," including Hangzhou Labubu Culture Media Co., Ltd., Zhejiang Labubu Textile Technology Co., Ltd., Shenzhen Labubu Business Co., Ltd., Dongguan Labubu Toy Co., Ltd., etc. Beijing Pop Mart Cultural and Creative Co., Ltd. has applied to register more than 80 "Labubu" related trademarks, with international classifications including education and entertainment, office supplies, clothing, shoes, and hats, etc., and some trademarks have been successfully registered. On June 13, 2025, Pop Mart's independent jewelry brand popop opened its first global store at Shanghai Port Plaza, and on June 14, popop's first store in Beijing officially opened at Beijing China World Mall.

Therefore, behind Pop Mart's explosive popularity, we need to see that Pop Mart's value is not only in the dolls we see but extends beyond the product itself. When we look at the product value of Pop Mart from this diversified perspective, its value is no longer just the dolls themselves but has more other derivative values.

Pop Mart, creating a new consumption model

The reason why Pop Mart is so popular is also because it has created a new consumption model and continues to gain new growth with this new consumption model. First, Pop Mart's offline physical store model. In January 2015, Pop Mart launched a new lifestyle concept flagship store at Beijing Wangfujing apm shopping center; by October 2018, Pop Mart had nearly 100 directly-operated stores and nearly 300 robot stores, achieving deep coverage of first- and second-tier cities nationwide. It can be said that the numerous offline physical stores make Pop Mart not just a company mainly engaged in virtual IP development, but a new company that has achieved a combination of virtual and real.

Second, Pop Mart has also opened up online sales channels. On November 11, 2018, Pop Mart's Tmall flagship store's sales exceeded 10 million in the first hour of the "Double Eleven" sale, and the sales reached 27.86 million yuan in 24 hours; in the same year, the self-owned IP "Molly" accounted for 62.9% of Pop Mart's total IP revenue. In November 2020, Pop Mart's total sales during the Double Eleven period exceeded 142 million, ranking first in the Tmall toy industry, and it was the first brand flagship store in the Tmall toy industry to enter the Double Eleven billion yuan club. On September 3, 2023, Pop Mart announced the launch of the first immersive IP theme park in the domestic trendy toy industry, "Pop Mart City Park (POP LAND)," in Beijing Chaoyang Park, becoming the first immersive IP theme park in the trendy toy industry. It can be seen that Pop Mart is looking for a brand new retail model, not just using the traditional store opening model to develop.

Again, Pop Mart is constantly crossing borders and co-branding, constantly seeking the effect of "1+1>2." For example, Pop Mart has co-branded with KFC. From April 13 to 18, 2024, Pop Mart appeared at the fourth China International Consumer Products Expo. During the exhibition, Pop Mart, as the "official IP partner of the Consumer Expo," deeply interacted with the Consumer Expo with its IP HACIPUPU, displaying a large number of domestic trendy products in a special exhibition area of more than 100 square meters, and announced the launch of co-branded new products in the "Global New Product Launch Plan." In 2024, Pop Mart reached a heavy co-branding cooperation with Disney to launch a co-branded blind box series. The creative point of cooperation is to integrate Disney's classic animated characters with Pop Mart's trendy toy style. For example, in the "Disney Princess" themed blind box, Cinderella, Snow White, and other princess images adopt Pop Mart's unique trendy design style, with Cinderella wearing a fashion-modified crystal dress and trendy accessories, showing a different charm.

Finally, in addition to deploying the domestic market, Pop Mart is also actively exploring new consumption overseas. On September 5, 2020, Pop Mart's first overseas directly-operated store opened in Gangnam District, Seoul, South Korea, and on the same day, the Dimoo Social University series blind box was globally launched at the store, limited to 200 per day, and sold out within an hour of opening; on March 22, 2021, Pop Mart's first store in Canada opened, which was its first overseas store in the North American market; in June 2022, Pop Mart's first pop-up store in the United States officially opened at South Coast Plaza in California, marking Pop Mart's first layout of offline channels in the United States; on July 2, 2022, Pop Mart's flagship store in Korea officially opened in Hongdae, Seoul; on July 16, Pop Mart opened its first store in Tokyo, Japan, located in a two-story standalone building on Shibuya Street; on August 5, Pop Mart officially launched the MEGA Collection Series 100% SPACE MOLLY Anniversary Series; on August 20, Pop Mart's first store in Australia officially opened; on October 20, Pop Mart's first offline retail store in Sydney officially opened at Westfield Mall in the city center...

Through the above analysis, it is not difficult to see that Pop Mart is not a purely virtual company, but a company that has perfectly integrated new retail and new consumption. From this perspective, when we look at Pop Mart again, we can get a more comprehensive understanding.

In conclusion

The popularity of Pop Mart is not just because of Pop Mart itself, but because of many other factors. When we look at Pop Mart from these perspectives, we may be able to get a more comprehensive understanding. At this time, Pop Mart is no longer just a simple trendy toy company, but a new type of company that covers both physical and virtual, and includes both IP and products. $POP MART(09992.HK)