Labubu-maker Pop Mart diversifies into jewellery with new concept store
The jewellery concept store, called Popop, sells accessories adorned with Pop Mart's top-selling characters, including Labubu, Molly and Skullpanda.
While Chinese consumption remains subdued in the face of a prolonged property downturn and sluggish economy, Pop Mart's affordable and adorable toys have remained in high demand both at home and abroad, driving its share price up more than 200% so far this year.
Investor Zhang Ming, 34, who owns Pop Mart stocks worth 100 million yuan ($13.92 million), flew from his base in the southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing for the opening to check out the new store type and decide whether to increase his shareholding in the company.
"I believe that the pricing and target audience for this brand are particularly well-suited, and I am confident that Pop Mart could potentially become China's version of Disney," Zhang said, predicting that the company's market cap could double from its current $45.65 billion valuation.
Along with some Disney characters and others related to anime, comics and popular video games, Pop Mart's characters are seen as fulfilling what has been called "emotional consumption", which sees young consumers spend on affordable luxuries that bring joy into their lives.
Fang Ke, 35, who has a birthday coming up this month decided to treat herself to a 699 yuan Labubu bracelet at the opening.
"I've loved Pop Mart for a long time; it's good-looking, brightly coloured, and also has a visual impact," she said. "My daughter likes it too."
At Popop, prices start at around 350 yuan for charms or a simple silver ring, and go as high as 2699 yuan for necklaces adorned with metallic models of the characters. Most pieces are priced at under 1,000 yuan.
At a traditional Pop Mart store, the "blind box" toys that the chain is best known for generally sell for 69 yuan and up, but consumers have shown a willingness to shell out much more for limited editions.
Earlier this week, a Beijing auction house sold a human-sized Labubu figure for 1.08 million yuan, setting a new record and marking the toy's switch from craze to collectible.
($1 = 7.1821 Chinese yuan renminbi)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
7 minutes ago
- Reuters
China youth jobless rate rises to 17.8% in July
BEIJING, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The jobless rate for 16- to 24-year-olds in China, excluding college students, ticked up to 17.8% in July from 14.5% the previous month, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. The unemployment rate for 25- to 29-year-olds, excluding students, rose to 6.9% in July from 6.7% a month earlier, while the jobless rate for 30- to 59-year-olds fell to 3.9% from 4.0%, the data showed.
Reuters
37 minutes ago
- Reuters
Rupee hits highest level in August on fading US tariff risks, tax cut boost
MUMBAI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee climbed to its highest level so far this month, supported by lower risks of additional U.S. tariffs on domestic goods and optimism that planned tax cuts will bolster growth. The rupee rose as much as 87.2050 per U.S. dollar on Tuesday, compared with 87.35 in the previous session. It was last at 87.2250. The currency is being supported by the Trump-Putin meeting and subsequent talks between the U.S. and Ukrainian presidents, raising hopes a peace deal. This, Nomura said in a note, "appears to reduce the likelihood of additional tariffs/sanctions on India in relation to the purchase of Russia oil". Nomura further highlighted that Trump, after his meeting with Putin, said the tariff/sanction path will be delayed. An escalation in U.S. tariffs on India could have driven the USD/INR to break past key levels on the upside. Indian Prime Minister Modi's planned cuts on goods and services tax (GST) is expected to support consumption and has also lifted sentiment in the rupee. Economists said the measures could provide a near-term boost to growth momentum and help offset the drag from weak external conditions. The rupee's Asian peers were mostly lower on Tuesday, pegged back by a rise in U.S. yields. The 10-year U.S. yield hit the highest in two weeks on Monday.
Reuters
37 minutes ago
- Reuters
China expected to keep benchmark lending rates unchanged
BEIJING/SHANGHAI, Aug 19 (Reuters) - China is expected to keep benchmark lending rates unchanged for the third straight month in August this week, a Reuters survey showed, despite a string of recent economic data suggesting the economy might lose some momentum. Rather than resorting to broad-based monetary easing, the central bank may instead place greater emphasis on structural policies aimed at specific sectors to support the economy, market watchers said. Meanwhile, Beijing's ongoing "anti-involution" campaign to get rid of industrial overcapacity could also help combat persistent deflationary pressure. The loan prime rate (LPR), normally charged to banks' best clients, is calculated each month after 20 designated commercial banks submit proposed rates to the People's Bank of China (PBOC). In a Reuters survey of 23 market watchers conducted this week, all respondents expected both the one-year and five-year LPRs to remain steady on Wednesday. Most new and outstanding loans in China are based on the one-year LPR, while the five-year rate influences the pricing of mortgages. China cut both rates by 10 basis points in May. "We don't expect a 'bazooka-style' stimulus, while we see targeted demand support in the second half of 2025," Citi analysts said in a note. "Structural policies could be a more important venue for the PBOC in the next few months compared with broad-based rate or reserve requirement ratio (RRR) cuts." China's new yuan loans contracted in July for the first time in 20 years as the economy struggled, falling well short of analysts' forecasts, but improvements in broader credit growth suggest the central bank is in no rush to ease policy. In the latest quarterly monetary policy implementation report, the central bank said it would implement and refine moderately loose monetary policy. "We should make good use of structural monetary policy tools to intensify support for scientific and technological innovation, boost consumption, support small and micro enterprises and stabilize foreign trade," the PBOC said.
