Latest news with #Labubu3.0
The Star
27-05-2025
- The Star
Chinese customs authorities crack down on toy doll smuggling
People look at collectable designer art toy Labubu at a Pop Mart pop-up store in Siam Center shopping mall in Bangkok on May 6, 2025. - AFP JINAN: The surge in cross-border resales of Pop Mart toys, with some rare editions fetching jaw-dropping prices, has blurred the line between proxy shopping and smuggling, as several Chinese customs authorities have reported undeclared toys being intercepted in quantities exceeding the allowed amount. In the past three months, Chinese customs authorities have reported multiple cases of intercepting undeclared Pop Mart toys, including popular Labubu and Molly figurines, carried by passengers who are seeking to profit from resales. In one instance, a total of 318 toys were seized from three travelers at Changsha Huanghua International Airport in Hunan province. In another case, a passenger at Hefei Xinqiao International Airport in Anhui province was caught with 94 toys, all intended for resale, according to the General Administration of Customs of China. 'The number of toys they brought with them exceeded the prescribed quantity for personal use, so they could face punishment according to related laws,' said Xu Hao, a lawyer at Beijing Jingsh Law Firm. China's Customs Law stipulates that transporting undeclared goods in excess of prescribed limits for profit-seeking purposes constitutes smuggling. If the evaded tax amount exceeds 50,000 yuan (US$6,940), it will be considered a smuggling crime that could carry a punishment of up to life in prison. Overseas Chinese students should be fully aware of the legal risks associated with similar resale activities, including but not limited to tax violations and counterfeit goods distribution, which may lead to severe consequences, Xu added. Pop Mart, a Beijing-based toy brand, has taken the global market by storm, with its limited-edition figurines becoming hot commodities both at home and abroad. The cases reported by Chinese customs authorities highlight the booming secondary market. The allure lies in the substantial profit margins. A customs declaration form submitted by one passenger showed that a Pop Mart Molly figurine in the passenger's possession was priced at 6,790 Thai baht (US$209). In China's secondary market, the same toy sells for an average of US$319 — leaving a sizable profit margin even after accounting for the 13 per cent value-added tax on such items. The 'hidden edition' of Labubu 3.0, originally priced at 99 yuan, now commands a price of more than 2,000 yuan. On a major Chinese secondhand goods platform, the hidden edition of Labubu 3.0 was listed at 2,699 yuan, with over 2,300 users marking it as 'wanted' and nearly 120,000 views recorded. 'Pop Mart is a Chinese brand, but overseas toy editions often feature exclusive collaborations not available in China, making them even more desirable,' said Sun Yuzhuoran, a buyer of Pop Mart products. Pop Mart's global expansion has further fueled the craze. With flagship stores in cities like Paris, London, New York and Bangkok, the brand reported 475 per cent year-on-year growth in its overseas revenue in the first quarter — five times that of its domestic market. The brand's popularity reflects consumption trends among young buyers. 'The affordable blind-box toys offer emotional value. It is about the thrill of spending just a few dozen yuan for some surprise,' said Li Ruihan, a university student in Jinan, Shandong province. 'But now, some editions sell for hundreds of yuan,' said Li. - China Daily/ANN
Straits Times
27-05-2025
- Straits Times
Chinese customs authorities crack down on toy doll smuggling
In the past three months, Chinese customs authorities have reported multiple cases of undeclared Pop Mart toys. PHOTO: AFP JINAN - The surge in cross-border resales of Pop Mart toys, with some rare editions fetching jaw-dropping prices, has blurred the line between proxy shopping and smuggling, as several Chinese customs authorities have reported undeclared toys being intercepted in quantities exceeding the allowed amount. In the past three months, Chinese customs authorities have reported multiple cases of intercepting undeclared Pop Mart toys, including popular Labubu and Molly figurines, carried by passengers who are seeking to profit from resales. In one instance, a total of 318 toys were seized from three travelers at Changsha Huanghua International Airport in Hunan province. In another case, a passenger at Hefei Xinqiao International Airport in Anhui province was caught with 94 toys, all intended for resale, according to the General Administration of Customs of China. 'The number of toys they brought with them exceeded the prescribed quantity for personal use, so they could face punishment according to related laws,' said Mr Xu Hao, a lawyer at Beijing Jingsh Law Firm. China's Customs Law stipulates that transporting undeclared goods in excess of prescribed limits for profit-seeking purposes constitutes smuggling. If the evaded tax amount exceeds 50,000 yuan ($8,901), it will be considered a smuggling crime that could carry a punishment of up to life in prison. Overseas Chinese students should be fully aware of the legal risks associated with similar resale activities, including but not limited to tax violations and counterfeit goods distribution, which may lead to severe consequences, Mr Xu added. Pop Mart, a Beijing-based toy brand, has taken the global market by storm, with its limited-edition figurines becoming hot commodities both at home and abroad. The cases reported by Chinese customs authorities highlight the booming secondary market. The allure lies in the substantial profit margins. A customs declaration form submitted by one passenger showed that a Pop Mart Molly figurine in the passenger's possession was priced at 6,790 Thai baht (S$268). In China's secondary market, the same toy sells for an average of S$410 — leaving a sizable profit margin even after accounting for the 13 per cent value-added tax on such items. The 'hidden edition' of Labubu 3.0, originally priced at 99 yuan, now commands a price of more than 2,000 yuan. On a major Chinese secondhand goods platform, the hidden edition of Labubu 3.0 was listed at 2,699 yuan, with over 2,300 users marking it as 'wanted' and nearly 120,000 views recorded. 'Pop Mart is a Chinese brand, but overseas toy editions often feature exclusive collaborations not available in China, making them even more desirable,' said Mr Sun Yuzhuoran, a buyer of Pop Mart products. Pop Mart's global expansion has further fueled the craze. With flagship stores in cities like Paris, London, New York and Bangkok, the brand reported 475 per cent year-on-year growth in its overseas revenue in the first quarter — five times that of its domestic market. The brand's popularity reflects consumption trends among young buyers. 'The affordable blind-box toys offer emotional value. It is about the thrill of spending just a few dozen yuan for some surprise,' said Mr Li Ruihan, a university student in Jinan, Shandong province. 'But now, some editions sell for hundreds of yuan,' said Mr Li. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
South China Morning Post
28-04-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Labubu toymaker Pop Mart is latest Chinese app to go viral in the US
Trend-toy maker Pop Mart topped the shopping category in Apple's US App Store on Friday, becoming the latest Chinese app to capture the hearts of American consumers, thanks to the popularity of its Labubu plush dolls. Advertisement In overall app rankings, Pop Mart surged to seventh place, according to online traffic data provider Sensor Tower. It dropped out of the top 25 by Sunday and ranked 21st among shopping apps. The Pop Mart app's dramatic rise coincided with the launch of Labubu 3.0 , or 'Big Into Energy' – a vibrant collection of seven Norse mythology-inspired 'monsters' designed by Hong Kong-born artist Lung Ka-sing. Shares of Beijing-based, Hong Kong-listed Pop Mart rose 12 per cent to HK$193 at the close of trading on Monday. A Pop Mart store in a shopping mall in Beijing. Photo: EPA-EFE Pop Mart's ascent in US download charts follows the growing popularity of other Chinese shopping apps, such as wholesale platform DHgate and Alibaba Group Holding's Taobao marketplace . American consumers have been seeking direct access to low-cost Chinese goods amid tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump. Advertisement Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
The Star
26-04-2025
- Business
- The Star
China's Pop Mart exercises pricing power as Labubu popularity surges abroad
Chinese trend-toy maker Pop Mart is hiking prices on its popular Labubu character in the US and shifting more production to Vietnam, as the tariff war between the world's two largest economies weighs on its profit margins. The Beijing-based company will introduce Labubu 3.0, a colourful set of seven figurines from the Norse mythology-inspired 'The Monsters' series, globally on Thursday. Items in the new collection will be priced at 99 yuan (US$13.50) in mainland China, on par with the current resale price of previous iterations. Meanwhile, US consumers will see a notable price bump to US$28, up from US$22 for the previous series, as the company seeks to protect its margins, according to a Wednesday report by Jefferies. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. 'Pop Mart is already positioned as a high-end toy brand overseas and primarily targets adult buyers,' said Richard Lin, chief consumer analyst at SPDB International, a Hong Kong-based investment bank. 'So given this context, it has a lot of say when it comes to determining its prices.' Lin added that Pop Mart could also raise the prices of existing collections later if the tariffs have a significant impact. 'Otherwise, the company won't be able to cover the additional costs,' he said. Pop Mart is making efforts to diversify its supply chain, moving more production to Vietnam to skirt heightened US tariffs on Chinese goods. Those tariffs now stand at 145 per cent, although US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday in Washington that tariffs on China will 'come down substantially, but it won't be zero'. Pop Mart's Vietnam site already manufactured 10 per cent of its total output as of the end of 2024, according to Jefferies, and the toymaker is planning to have all US products made there by the end of this year. Vietnam was one of the hardest-hit Asian countries under Trump's trade restrictions, slapped with a 46 per cent 'reciprocal tariff' earlier this month. But the measure was quickly rolled back as part of a 90-day tariff pause on all US trade partners except China. Still, analysts projected some pressure on Pop Mart's margins. 'We slightly trim our margin assumption, considering possibly higher supply-chain-management pressure and product return rate in a hyper-growth period and short-term damage from US tariff hikes,' wrote Jessie Xu, who leads China consumer discretionary research at Deutsche Bank. The price increase and supply-chain adjustments are far from a threat to the company's global expansion, as Pop Mart's popularity continues to grow in every market where it has a presence. Its Labubu toy – an elfin character with a mischievous grin – took the Asia market by storm last year and won over high-profile followers including K-pop star Lisa of Blackpink and members of the Thai royal family. Now, it is gaining favour in the US and Europe as well. The company's first-quarter sales surged up to 900 per cent year on year in the US and 605 per cent in Europe, far outpacing the 350 per cent growth in Asia and 100 per cent growth at home, according to the company's latest unaudited results on Tuesday. 'Fan effect is emerging in the US and Europe as more celebrities and influencers are becoming obsessed with Pop Mart's toys since just late 2024,' Deutsche Bank's Xu said in a report. 'The 'kidadult' trend and plushies are quickly gaining popularity amid a much wider group of consumers (from teenagers to those in their 50s and the super-wealthy), leading to a much larger total addressable market for Pop Mart.' Deutsche Bank raised the revenue forecast of the Hong Kong-listed company for the next two years by up to 30 per cent, and expected China and overseas markets to grow 56 per cent and 180 per cent year on year in 2025, respectively. Meanwhile, Jefferies projected that Pop Mart's sales abroad could hit 13 billion yuan (US$1.8 billion) this year, up from 5.1 billion yuan in 2024 and matching last year's global total. Overseas revenue now accounts for close to 40 per cent of the company's total, CEO Wang Ning said in a memo this month, where he also announced a management revamp in a bid to accelerate the brand's international expansion. Former senior-vice president Justin Moon will join Sid Si as co-chief operating officers, while regional headquarters will also be set up for Greater China, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe, according to an organisational chart seen by the Post. Shares in Pop Mart have risen more than 95 per cent so far this year, following a 370 per cent surge in 2024. More from South China Morning Post: For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2025.
Time Out
25-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Labubu 3.0 is being released via lucky draw in Hong Kong
Just as we thought Hongkongers' attention spans were shifting more towards other collectibles like Crybaby, Pucky, or Chiikawa, Labubu returns to grab us all by the throat once again. Popmart is launching the third edition of their globally famous Labubu series on April 25, and here's how you might get first dibs. Since Popmart is a Chinese brand, they've already dropped the goods for the mainland Chinese market online on the evening of April 24. As you might expect of viral items, the plushie monsters have already been seen on second-hand shopping platforms like Carousell with wildly inflated prices – the blind boxes cost RMB99 on the official website, but are being sold for as much as HK$1,500 at the moment. Buying Labubu 3.0 in Hong Kong is slightly different, as sales will be conducted via lottery. Hongkongers have until noon on April 25 to sign up on Popmart for their lottery, and the results will be announced at 5pm the same day. Chosen customers will then need to physically go to their pre-chosen Popmart store by 9pm on Saturday, April 26, to make their purchases. We are also unable to buy singular Labubu blind boxes and must purchase a carton of six in one go, priced at $720. Each customer can only buy one carton. Following on from the viral pastel-coloured plushies of version one's 'Tasty Macarons' series and the seated version two's 'Have A Seat' series, version three is named 'The Monsters Big Into Energy' series. Featuring tie dye-like gradient colours, the coat of Labubu 3.0 is longer and furrier than previous editions. Its eyes, one tooth, claws, and two-toned ears will also reflect its overall colour scheme. They come in six regular colours – red, light orange, peachy pink and yellow, blue, light green, and purple – while the rare secret colour will be black and grey fur with rainbow eyes and teeth.
