China cracks down on fake ‘Lafufu' Labubus
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
8 hours ago
- Newsweek
Los Angeles Labubu Heist: What to Know
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Masked thieves stole approximately $7,000 worth of popular Labubu collectible dolls Wednesday morning from a toy store in La Puente, California, according to the Associated Press. Newsweek has reached out to the LA County Sheriff's Department via email on Saturday for comment. What Are Labubu Dolls? Labubu dolls are fluffy, gremlin-style toys and bag charms that are equal parts cute and creepy. The toys come in an array of different colors and feature big, pointed bunny rabbit ears, wide eyes and a wide spiky-toothed grin. Part of a wider series of creatures dubbed "The Monsters," inspired by mythology, Labubus are designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. Part of the appeal is that Labubus are sold as "blind box" collectibles, which means you don't know which one you have until you've opened the box. This makes it harder to collect a full set and adds to the appeal of unboxing videos. The exclusive dolls play into one of the most dominant fashion trends of the past few seasons: the bag charm. According to fashion data website Lyst, in 2024, demand for bag charms and bags with embellishments rose by 352 percent month-on-month and they were a prominent feature on the FW25 runways, appearing in 33 percent of Louis Vuitton menswear looks, as per Databutmakeitfashion. In the past year, the Chinese toymaker's annual revenues grew in Southeast Asia by 619 percent to $309 million dollars, as per CNN. Shares in Pop Mart have risen more than 95 percent this year, after a 370 percent surge in 2024, according to the South China Morning Post. A collection of Labubu toys in a Pop Mart outlet in Hangzhou city in east China's Zhejiang province on July 17. A collection of Labubu toys in a Pop Mart outlet in Hangzhou city in east China's Zhejiang province on July 17. FeatureChina via AP Images What To Know The LA County Sheriff's Department confirmed the suspects used a stolen Toyota Tacoma in the heist, which was recovered shortly after the incident. One Stop Sales, located about 18 miles east of Los Angeles, was completely ransacked during the break-in, according to the owners and authorities. Security footage shows multiple suspects wearing hoodies and face coverings methodically clearing shelves and carrying boxes of merchandise out of the toy store. Joanna Avendano, co-owner of One Stop Sales, told local station ABC7 that she had noticed a suspicious truck parked near her store before closing Tuesday night. She added that she believes the burglars had been watching the shop's social media account where Avendano had recently posted a video announcing a new restock of Labubus. What People Are Saying One Stop Sales released a statement on their Instagram: "We are still in shock. They took all of our inventory [and] trashed our store. We are asking for everyone's help in finding these people." The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department told NBC News: "Several boxes of Labubu dolls were stolen, valued at approximately seven thousand dollars." Co-owner of One Stop Sales Joanna Avendano told ABC7: "There was a lot taken, maybe like around $30,000 or more of inventory. We worked so hard to get to this point, and for them to just come in and, like nothing, take it all away, it's really bad." She continued: "I was watching everything, from when they got in, what they were taking. I was panicking because I was just...I couldn't do anything." What Happens Next The sheriff's department continues investigating the case, though no arrests have been announced. The store is appealing to the community through social media to help identify the suspects captured in surveillance footage. Reporting from the Associated Press contributed to this article.
Forbes
10 hours ago
- Forbes
‘Destiny' Is Getting Sparrow Racing Again For The First Time In Eight Years, On Your Phone
Destiny 2 fans have been asking for various things to be added or at the very least, return to the game for years now, and now a game has come along that almost seems to be trolling it at this point. That would be Destiny Rising, the NetEase mobile title that takes place in a non-canon variant of the Destiny universe. It's had a few betas and alphas and now is ready for release on August 28. Fans have already noted that it features things that they've wanted like crossbows and dual wielding weapons, in addition to cool looking heroes and wild new supers and power that don't exist in the main game. Now, Destiny Rising has revealed that it has its own version of Sparrow Racing League. It has been literally eight years since Sparrow Racing was in Destiny. It was first introduced back in 2015 in Destiny 1, and then came back in 2017 again once more. Despite fans saying they liked it a lot and wanted it back so much it became a meme, it has never shown up in Destiny 2. Reportedly, making these specific Sparrow racing tracks was too resource intensive compared to how many people were actually participating and spending in the event, so here we are. Destiny Rising is giving the people what they want, and has just released a trailer for its own version of Sparrow Racing. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder They seem to be leaning into the entire minigame idea, as Destiny Rising will also have fishing. Destiny 2 did do a variant of that one season, but dissimilar to what we'll see on mobile. I am of two minds as to whether Destiny Rising is going to be a hit with Destiny players (getting non-Destiny players to play a Destiny phone game is another thing entirely). On the one hand, it is very fun in early tests. The stuff they added is cool, the gunplay is decent enough for a mobile game (but use a controller). I think people will hop on board, especially with actual Destiny in an uncomfortable transition period right now. Hop on board…for now. Fans may not love that it's a mobile game at baseline with no official desktop client, but past that, this is very much a gacha, something that has only been partially visible in early tests, but the longer you play these kinds of games the more intense and potentially expensive those systems get. Trust me, you don't want to know much I've sunk into Genshin Impact. I do think there will be a large number of Destiny players, if not the vast majority, who will eventually hit a wall like that and bounce out. All that said, I'm excited, and it's great that Rising is identifying gaps in Destiny content and filling those in where they can. We'll hit the track again soon. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.
Fox News
14 hours ago
- Fox News
Labubu vs. Sydney Sweeney: The Gen Z culture war you didn't know was already happening — experts weigh in
What do a Chinese-manufactured toy and an American actress have in common? According to experts, not much — except they're both being marketed to Gen Z. Distributed exclusively by China-based retailer Pop Mart, Labubus are viral Monster plush toys, created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, who became inspired by Nordic supernatural folklore and children's imaginative abilities to create Labubu and the larger "Monsters" figurine series. Since their introduction to the U.S., Gen Z demand has prompted the toys to repeatedly sell out, turning them into America's newest status symbol. At the same time, "Euphoria" actress Sydney Sweeney has become a culture icon in her own right — representing youth marketing, American glamor and femininity. Recently, Sweeney, who faced backlash for her controversial American Eagle jeans ad campaign, was also recognized by President Donald Trump, who applauded both the ad and her voter registration as a Republican. Fox News Digital asked media and culture experts to weigh in on how different brands are marketing to Gen Z today, and if they believe the Chinese plush toy represents a change in values compared to traditional "It girl" icons like Sweeney. "At the core, Labubu and Sydney Sweeney aren't radically new; they're evolutions of age-old marketing patterns," said Daniel Robbins, Founder of IBH Media. "History is repeating itself. Labubu mirrors the Beanie Babies craze of the '90s: collectible, emotionally charged, and driven by hype cycles. The difference is distribution. Beanie Babies thrived on scarcity and word-of-mouth, while Labubu rides [on] algorithmic virality and influencer amplification. Social media didn't exist then, but now it accelerates niche obsessions into global movements almost overnight." "The same goes for Sydney Sweeney," Robbins said. "We have seen similar marketing in the past. Today, the audience isn't just passively consuming these images; they're curating them, remixing them, and reacting in real time. We now see instant feedback loops — backlash, praise, irony, sincerity… because we're constantly plugged in. The consumer's voice is no longer an afterthought; it's part of the marketing narrative itself." Among the differing feedback loops, liberal media outlets and progressive commentators fretted over what they deemed coded language from American Eagle and Sweeney about White supremacy and eugenics, while conservatives mocked these concerns. While Labubus aren't inherently political, some believe they invoke identity play and "weirdcore." With 2.5 million Hashtags dedicated to the plush toy on TikTok, alone, users can be found changing up their Labubu, based on identity, such as creating "24k gold" and "Pride" Labubus. "Labubu embodies anti-aesthetic charm, messy, weird and emotionally ambiguous — a far cry from the polished beauty and aspirational femininity of Sydney Sweeney," Top Culture/Trending podcast host of The Determined Society, Shawn French told Fox News Digital. "While Sweeney symbolizes the return of classic Hollywood allure and controlled branding, Labubu taps into post-irony and collectible culture where cuteness, chaos and emotional nostalgia collide." Generation Z, also known as "digital natives," grew up with accessible internet and social media, feeding varying possibilities of identities and subcultures — from the "tradwife" aesthetic to gender-fluid fashion and more. These differing camps of identity are what Shama Hyder, CEO of Zen Media, says makes Gen Z "a pendulum generation constantly navigating between extremes." "The Sweeney camp still believes in playing the game of existing systems, in meritocracy and conventional success," Hyder told Fox News Digital. "The Labubu camp feels alienated from those structures and is creating alternative value systems. It's not necessarily left versus right politically. It's establishment versus anti-establishment cultural positioning. Both sides are trying to find their footing in an intensely polarized world." Labubu and Sydney Sweeney aren't "radically new" in terms of marketing. Other examples of how Gen Z is being marketed include MSCHF Big Red Boots, for its "weirdcore" appeal, or surreal imagery, and on the flipside, Hailey Bieber's Rhode beauty brand, for its curated and "clean girl" aesthetic. Hyder says that branding both "weirdness" and "beauty" can work for Gen Z because of how the generation has "cultural literacy." "The Sweeney pole says people want aspiration, beauty, status — things that have always worked in marketing. The Labubu pole says people want community through shared weirdness, success through viral chaos, authenticity even if it's ugly," said Hyder to Fox News Digital. What's fascinating is that both work simultaneously for this generation. Gen Z has the cultural literacy to appreciate ironic ugliness and traditional beauty depending on what they need to express in that moment." While they may differ in appeal, Gen Z isn't necessarily choosing sides, but rather buying both. Labubus continue to be in high-demand and difficult to find, and despite the surrounding controversy, Sweeney's visibility and marketability has increased among younger audiences, according to public relations experts.
