Labubu maker Pop Mart sees profit soar nearly 400% in first half of 2025
Pop Mart is pledging to increase supply of the Labubu dolls, which have sold out in stores around the world.
SHANGHAI - China's Pop Mart, which has taken the world by storm with its ugly-cute Labubu doll, reported a nearly 400 per cent first-half earnings on Aug 19 on high demand for the toys and a shift towards higher-margin overseas markets.
Net profit of 396.5 per cent and a 204.4 per cent jump in revenue exceeded numbers flagged in an earnings preview in July forecasting revenue growth of 200 per cent in the first half of 2025 and a recurring net profit increase of at least 350 per cent on the year.
Shares in Pop Mart have risen more than 200 per cent year to date, making the Chinese toy company more valuable than traditional industry giants like Barbie-maker Mattel and Hello Kitty parent company Sanrio.
Pop Mart often sells its collectable figurines in so-called 'blind boxes' with buyers not knowing the exact design they will receive until they open the packaging.
One of the major drivers of the toothy-grinned Labubu's success has been its popularity with celebrity fans, who include Lisa of K-pop group Blackpink, singer Rihanna and ex-soccer star David Beckham.
Pop Mart is pledging to increase supply of the dolls, which have sold out in stores around the world.
Its chief executive officer Wang Ning, in an interview with Chinese state media last month, said sales of Labubu will surpass 10 million units per day from September this year.
Pop Mart classifies Labubu under its 'The Monsters' intellectual property (IP) characters. It said on Aug 19 that 'The Monsters' raked in 4.81 billion yuan (S$860.6 million) in the first half, accounting for 34.7 per cent of total revenue.
Four other IPs earned over one billion yuan during the period, including 'Molly' and 'Crybaby', it added.
The company now has 571 stores - 40 of which it opened in the first half of 2025 - as well as 2,597 automated robot shops across 18 countries and regions, it added. REUTERS
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