Latest news with #PopMart
The Star
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Pop Mart opens first Berlin store to "endless" queues
BERLIN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Not even the rainy weather could dampen the enthusiasm of hundreds of devoted fans who queued for kilometers outside a major Berlin shopping center early Friday morning, eagerly awaiting the opening of China's toy-maker Pop Mart's first store in Germany. By the time the doors opened at 10 a.m. local time, the queue of people with umbrellas and camping chairs, fizzing with excitement, had already wrapped around the building. Some fans had traveled distances of up to 500 kilometers, just to get their hands on Labubu, the wildly popular plush collectible. One 41-year-old father told German media Berliner Rundfunk that he and his 10-year-old son had arrived 21 hours before opening time. "We got here yesterday at 1 p.m., and my son stood by the door. We realized we were the first ones. Then he clung to it and said, 'Dad, I'm not letting go,'" he recalled. When the doors finally opened, the crowd surged forward. "It was chaotic, it was very hot, but it was all worth it," said Cynthia Schlater, 25, who waited in line for 14 hours. She told German media BZ Berlin that she spent about 500 euros in the store. Labubu, one of Pop Mart's most beloved characters, has transformed from a quirky figure with googly eyes and sharp teeth into a global icon. Founded in 2010, POP MART has risen to fame through its original character designs and collaborations with emerging artists, and it has attracted 1.2 million annual visitors to its flagship stores worldwide.
DW
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- DW
Berlin: Germany's first Labubu toy store opens doors to fans – DW – 07/25/2025
The Labubu craze has found a new home, as hundreds of people lined up to get the eerie ugly dolls at Chinese toymaker Pop Mart's first store in Berlin. The fluffy toy with the toothy grin and pointed ears, called Labubu, arrived in Germany on Friday with Chinese toymaker Pop Mart opening its first physical store in the country. The eerie plush doll that has swept the internet appeared to be at home, as China's Pop Mart opened its first store in Berlin, a city known for its edgy and energetic style. Hundreds of people waited in line, including with camping chairs, with one even working on her computer, according to DW's business reporter, Marie Sina. "I'll wait till I get one," said one person waiting in line who spoke with Sina. She had a fake version of the toy, Lafufu, at home, and she wanted an original doll. Lafufus gained popularity because of a shortage of original toys. China last month warned that the counterfeit Lafufu toys could pose a choking hazard for children. A big reason for the popularity of the eerie little monster toys is that they are packaged inside boxes and people buying them only learn about their character when they open the boxes. The surprise element adds to the mystery and creates more hype, and people are willing to put more money to get the doll they want. By now, there are more than 2.4 million #Labubu TikTok posts and counting. Even Brad Pitt and the cast of "F1 The Movie" filmed a TikTok unwrapping the boxes. DW's Sina says many people waiting in line in Berlin earlier today were influencers and journalists, the with Gen Z and millennial age groups present at the opening. Labubu, by artist and illustrator Kasing Lung, first appeared a decade ago in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology in 2015. In 2019, Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart, a Beijing-based company that caters to toy connoisseurs, to sell Labubu figurines. In 2023, Pop Mart began selling the plush toys on key rings and the phenomenon blew up overseas. K-pop singer Lisa of Blackpink talked about her love for the toy on Instagram where she has more than 100 million followers, fueling the hype. Celebrities like Rihanna and Dua Lipa have been spotted with the toys attached to their handbags. Pop Mart's revenue more than doubled in 2024 to 13.04 billion yuan ($1.81 billion, €1.55 billion), thanks in part to the wild explosion in popularity of Labubus. Revenue from Pop Marts' plush toys soared more than 1,200% in 2024, nearly 22% of its overall revenue, according to the company's annual report. The Chinese toymaker said earlier this month it expects at least a 350% profit and about a 200% jump in revenue for the first six months of the year. Even though the vast majority of Pop Mart's revenue comes from Asia, global demand for Labubus has turned Pop Mart into a $40 billion company, according to Bloomberg.
Time Out
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Giant Crybaby installations take over Festival Walk, with a Pop Mart pop-up store
Among the toy keychains that have taken over hearts and social media feeds recently, Crybaby has always been a particularly cute brand, with endearing characters that are instantly recognisable from the tears on their faces. This summer, these weeping cuties are taking over Festival Walk in Kowloon Tong with multiple giant installations. Themed after a playground, eight oversized blind box characters from Crybaby's Crying For Love series are dotted around the main atrium of the mall for fans to admire and take photos with. The centrepiece is the giant Love You Cherry Much figures, sitting side by side in their cherry outfits above a red-and-white ball pit. Other cute installations include the angel and devil Kiss Kiss characters pouting towards each other in a smooch, a Stupid Cupid heart-shaped swing set, and a translucent red box housing a Heart Broken Crybaby. It's not all just photo ops, as Pop Mart also brings a pop-up store to this event, with plenty of goodies to keep all collectors and shoppers satisfied. Aside from products from the Crying For Love series – like the gift box containing the angel and heart plushies, an adorable straw cup, and vinyl plush hanging dolls – this pop-up also stocks Crybaby's other lines, such as the animal-themed Wild but Cutie series, the tutu-wearing Shiny Shiny series, their Powerpuff Girls collab, as well as scented candles and fragrances. If there's an out-of-stock product on the Pop Mart website you have your eye on, it's worth checking out this event to try your luck. There will also be plenty of other merch from Pop Mart's most popular characters, including Molly, Dimoo, Pucky, and more (no Labubus, though). Don't leave without snapping some selfies at the Crybaby photo booth with Crying For Love photo frames. During the pop-up event, visitors can also register as My Festival members for free and use their bonus points to redeem Crybaby stickers or a Crybaby Playground single-use film camera. Crybaby Playground will be at Festival Walk from July 25 to August 31.
South China Morning Post
10 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Labubu retailer Pop Mart focused on taking Chinese brand to world, CEO says
A new wave of Chinese consumer companies, led by toymaker Pop Mart, is seeking a greater global presence, reflecting China's strategic pivot towards exporting its brands, and not just products. 'We originally hoped to become China's Disney; now we hope to become the world's Pop Mart,' the company's founder and CEO, Wang Ning, said in an interview with state broadcaster China Central Television on Thursday. 'We use China's manufacturing industry and market to incubate artists from all over the world, and bring their creations back out to the world.' Pop Mart, a retailer with an intellectual property-focused business model, has seen its international revenue soar with the explosive global popularity of its Labubu dolls. The plush character with pointy ears, jagged teeth and signature mischievous grin, has gained high-profile fans like Lisa from K-pop group Blackpink and global music icon Rihanna, and is often sold out around the world. The company's revenue from markets outside mainland China surged 375.2 per cent to 5.07 billion yuan (US$708.35 million) last year and is set for further growth. 'This year, overseas sales will likely surpass domestic sales,' Wang said, noting that sales in North America were expected to exceed sales in Southeast Asia, its top-performing overseas market last year.
Business of Fashion
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
The Rise of ‘Ugly-Cute' Labubu Dolls, in Four Charts
No one saw 2025's hottest accessory coming. Labubu dolls, cartoonish plush toys designed ten years ago by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung as part of his Nordic folklore-inspired character series 'The Monsters' and now distributed by Chinese toy maker Pop Mart, have become a viral sensation this summer. The figures, which typically cost around $20, rose to prominence after K-pop star Lisa began sporting them as bag charms last year. They've since sparked wraparound queues at malls around the world and have been spotted hanging off the handbags of celebrities including Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Central Cee and Marc Jacobs. Gen-Z and Gen Alpha customers have repeatedly sold them out; earlier this summer on TikTok Shop, a single, eight-hour live stream generated over $1.5 million in Labubu sales. With their flushed cheeks, mischievous eyes, wide grins exposing nine serrated teeth, pointed bunny ears and rotund, fuzzy bodies, Labubu dolls' popularity is baffling to many. But their 'ugly-cute' looks are precisely why they're so beloved among Gen-Z. 'Consumers, driven by the dual desire for emotional comfort and expressive individuality during challenging times, find resonance in Labubus' unique blend of innocence, irreverence, and charm,' wrote Michael Appler, vice president of marketing at Trendalytics, in an email. Their nostalgic and playful aesthetic reflects Gen-Z's disillusionment with the stark realities of adulthood during uncertain economic times. The dolls' rise to prominence is also reflective of the 'lipstick index' at work: As the cost of living soars and consumer sentiment dims, shoppers are more likely to pay for small, inexpensive 'luxuries' that double as unique status symbols. While cuteness has been trending in fashion for months now, with everything from polka dots to fruit jewellery gaining popularity, Labubus in particular have stood out. Though overall viral microtrends have slowed, the Labubu is the most visible success in a series of trending 'blind box' items — or small collectibles whose contents are sealed and unknown to the buyer at the time of purchase — with limited production that includes Smiski toys (green, glow-in-the-dark figures) and Sonny Angels (plastic, semi-nude babies collected by Bella Hadid and Victoria Beckham). The dopamine rush of these limited-edition mystery boxes also gamifies the purchasing experience, and the toys serve as an 'if-you-know-you-know' marker for fellow collectors. The collectibles' ascent has been astronomical, with the Chinese government even commencing efforts to crack down on counterfeit Labubu dolls, or 'Lafufus,' earlier this year. But despite recent bullish growth, Pop Mart's shareholders fear the collectibles will soon begin to lose traction, and that the company's success can't be sustained. Below, a look at Labubu dolls' trajectory in four charts. Trendalytics analysis found that year-on-year Google searches for Labubu soared by 9,800 percent in June. Pop Mart is also benefiting from continuing consumer interest in bag charms, which saw searches more than double this summer since 2024, while average weekly posts related to bag charms on TikTok have skyrocketed over twentyfold. In the first half of 2025, mentions of Labubu alongside Hermès generated almost $30 million in media impact value — a staggering 4 percent of total conversations around Hermès — as bag charms tapped into a desire for greater personalisation. '[The] broader cultural move toward individuality is a perfect backdrop for the rise of bag charms and, in turn, Labubu,' wrote StockX senior director of marketplace Drew Haines in an email. Rare Labubu dolls have been sold for vast premiums at auctions and on resale platforms. Since October, Pop Mart has been the number-one bestselling collectibles brand on StockX, with sales up 748 percent thus far in 2025. The toy maker, which had seen fewer than 100 trades in 2023, generated tens of thousands of sales on StockX last year. Though Pop Mart said it expects a profit jump of 350 percent in the first half of 2025, investors appear to have taken a more cautious outlook on the toy maker, likely because blind box trends tend to be volatile and lack longevity. As Labubu dolls rise in popularity, they can no longer be a secret of the 'in group' or an emblem of personal identity. If early pullback is any indication, Labubu mania may have already hit its peak.
