Latest news with #PopMartInternational
NDTV
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
This 38-Year-Old Chinese CEO Added $1.6 Billion To His Fortune In A Day, All Thanks To A Viral Doll
Wang Ning, the chairman and CEO of Chinese toy maker Pop Mart International, became $1.6 billion richer in a single day, all thanks to his company's viral Labubu dolls. The seemingly innocuous doll is based on a character designed by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung for his 2015 picture book series 'The Monsters'. The doll features distinctive bunny ears and a mischievous grin. It gained popularity after Mr Lung partnered with Pop Mart in 2019. Since then, the doll has become the latest collectable trend among Gen Z and has also been spotted hanging from the luxury bags of celebrities like Rihanna, Blackpink's Lisa, and Singaporean socialite Jamie Chua. In fact, the Labubu craze is so much that it added billions to its creator's fortune. According to an April 2025 Forbes report, Wang Ning, the man behind these viral dolls, became $1.6 billion richer in a single day, thanks to his company's soaring popularity in the United States. Today, Mr Ning's net worth stands at $18.3 billion, per Forbes Real Time Billionaires List. Pop Mart's success with Labubu translated into an impressive digital performance as the company's app became the most downloaded shipping app in the US. Even with the ongoing trade tensions between China and the US, Americans queued up for hours to buy the rabbit-looking dolls. This digital surge, coupled with robust sales, significantly contributed to the substantial increase in Mr Ning's net worth. "Pop Mart's shares got a short-term boost due to the app's ranking in the US and the rush to acquire its dolls," Kenny Ng, a Hong Kong-based securities strategist at Everbright Securities International, told Forbes. What are Labubu dolls? Labubu is one of the characters created by Kasing Lung. It belongs to Mr Lung's imaginative storybook world, 'The Monsters', which also features other whimsical characters such as Zimomo, Tycoco, Spooky and Pato. According to Mr Lung's book, Labubu is an elf, a girl distinguished by high-pointed ears, no tail, and a unique face that ranges from innocent to impish. Labubu is admired for her kind-hearted character. Her slightly eerie, toothy grin and kooky expressions are a hit among children. Over the years, Labubu has been reimagined in over 300 variations, in different colours, outfits, sizes and themes. In 2019, Pop Mart teamed up with Kasing Lung to launch Labubu figures in their The Monsters series. These are sold in blind boxes, and each sealed package hides a surprise design. This element of surprise has fueled a buying frenzy, encouraging repeat purchases to complete collections. In 2024 alone, the company reported a revenue of $1.8 billion, with Labubu contributing nearly $400 million to that figure.
RTHK
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- RTHK
HK stocks end down amid fears of car price war
HK stocks end down amid fears of car price war The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.53 percent for the day at 23,258.31. File photo: AFP China stocks ended roughly flat on Wednesday as investors remained cautious amid ongoing Sino-US tensions despite a temporary easing in tariff threats announced this month. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index shed 123.68 points, or 0.53 percent, to end the day's trading at 23,258.31. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.31 percent to end at 8,443.87 while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.15 percent to end at 5,174.64. Tech majors edged down 0.3 percent. Mystery box maker Pop Mart International saw its shares down 7 percent, its largest one-day decline since April 7. Shares of Xiaomi rose 0.4 percent after it reported a record first-quarter revenue and profit and said its shift towards higher-end products from smartphones to home appliances was already paying off. Shares of major electric carmakers extended losses as an intensifying auto industry price war in China stoked fears of a long-anticipated shake-out in the world's largest car market. BYD shares traded offshore fell 2.7 percent while Li Auto dropped 2.5 percent. Across the border, mainland-listed stocks closed lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.02 percent to 3,339.93. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.26 percent lower at 10,003.27 After a period of market consolidation, Sino-US negotiations are expected to remain in a tug-of-war phase, but with low active capital positioning and investors now seasoned by April's volatility, future disruptions are unlikely to significantly impact market risk appetite, Citic Securities analysts said in a note. US President Donald Trump has played his cards in trade negotiations, and the path ahead depends on the bargaining power of countries and corporates, but trade policies will not return to the pre-Trump period, Olivier Blanchard, senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics, said at the UBS Asian Investment Conference on Wednesday. Free trade agreements typically take about one to two years to decide and three years to implement, he said. The Nikkei ended the day down 1.71 points at 37,722.40, effectively unchanged but snapping a three-day rally. The broader Topix also finished essentially flat but up 0.02 points at 2,769.51. (Reuters/Xinhua)
RTHK
28-05-2025
- Automotive
- RTHK
HK stocks end down amid fears of car price war
HK stocks end down amid fears of car price war The Hang Seng Index ended down 0.53 percent for the day at 23,258.31. File photo: AFP China stocks ended roughly flat on Wednesday as investors remained cautious amid ongoing Sino-US tensions despite a temporary easing in tariff threats announced this month. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index shed 123.68 points, or 0.53 percent, to end the day's trading at 23,258.31. The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.31 percent to end at 8,443.87 while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.15 percent to end at 5,174.64. Tech majors edged down 0.3 percent. Mystery box maker Pop Mart International saw its shares down 7 percent, its largest one-day decline since April 7. Shares of Xiaomi rose 0.4 percent after it reported a record first-quarter revenue and profit and said its shift towards higher-end products from smartphones to home appliances was already paying off. Shares of major electric carmakers extended losses as an intensifying auto industry price war in China stoked fears of a long-anticipated shake-out in the world's largest car market. BYD shares traded offshore fell 2.7 percent while Li Auto dropped 2.5 percent. Across the border, mainland-listed stocks closed lower, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index down 0.02 percent to 3,339.93. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.26 percent lower at 10,003.27 After a period of market consolidation, Sino-US negotiations are expected to remain in a tug-of-war phase, but with low active capital positioning and investors now seasoned by April's volatility, future disruptions are unlikely to significantly impact market risk appetite, Citic Securities analysts said in a note. US President Donald Trump has played his cards in trade negotiations, and the path ahead depends on the bargaining power of countries and corporates, but trade policies will not return to the pre-Trump period, Olivier Blanchard, senior fellow at Peterson Institute for International Economics, said at the UBS Asian Investment Conference on Wednesday. Free trade agreements typically take about one to two years to decide and three years to implement, he said. The Nikkei ended the day down 1.71 points at 37,722.40, effectively unchanged but snapping a three-day rally. The broader Topix also finished essentially flat but up 0.02 points at 2,769.51. (Reuters/Xinhua)
South China Morning Post
07-02-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
From Labubu to Ne Zha: toy craze fans Pop Mart's market-beating stock rally
Fresh from its success with Labubu, Pop Mart International is on another hot streak in intellectual property (IP) merchandising as consumers snap up its toys based on China's highest-grossing Ne Zha 2 , leading US investment bank Morgan Stanley to name the stock among its top picks. Pop Mart's Ne Zha toys sold out days after their release on January 30 as the animation broke local box-office records, according state-run China Movie Database on Thursday. The sequel also overtook The Battle at Lake Changjin in all-time ticket sales following its stellar Lunar New Year holiday run. The frenzy is a repeat of Pop Mart's success in capitalising on its Labubu toys, a toothy but adorable elfin beloved by millions of Asian fans, including a member of K-pop group Blackpink. The formula helped propel its sales outside mainland China and fan a 350 per cent rally in its stock in Hong Kong last year. 'We expect Pop Mart to become one of the go-to partners for global major IP owners that intend to monetise and extend IP popularity through IP toys,' Morgan Stanley analysts including Dustin Wei and Carol Xia said in a report. Its success underlines its influence in the IP strategy, they added. A Ne Zha movie poster outside a cinema in Hangzhou. Third-party IPs like Ne Zha only counted for 15 to 20 per cent of Pop Mart's revenue, but they helped the brand gain new customers effectively, the analysts said.
