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Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Labubu-maker Pop Mart diversifies into jewellery with new concept store
SHANGHAI, June 13 (Reuters) - "Blind box" toymaker Pop Mart, which has seen frenzied sales worldwide for products related to its ugly-cute Labubu character, opened its first jewellery store in Shanghai on Friday. 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)
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Labubu-Maker Pop Mart Diversifies into Jewellery with New Concept Store
"Blind box" toymaker Pop Mart, which has seen frenzied sales worldwide for products related to its ugly-cute Labubu character, opened its first jewellery store in Shanghai on Friday. 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 colored, 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.
South China Morning Post
31-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China may face sustained capital outflow pressure, top economists warn
China may continue to face capital outflow pressures over the next two years – though on a smaller scale compared to previous low periods – according to two prominent economists, who also called on the central bank to control new forms of capital flight such as digital assets and cryptocurrencies. Advertisement Zhang Ming, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Finance and Banking, and researcher Chen Yinmo of the National Institution for Finance and Development jointly expressed their concerns in a social media post on Saturday. They blamed the outflows on uncertainties over the US Federal Reserve's monetary policy, the tariff blitz under US President Donald Trump, geopolitical tensions and China's weak consumer sentiment. 'China's capital outflow pressures in the next couple of years will be reflected through weak foreign direct investment versus ongoing overseas direct investments, [or] the use of Chinese capital due to lower interest rates for overseas investments,' the pair noted in the article posted on Zhang's official social media account. Quoting data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, they said that China's capital account – the national record of net investment flows – posted a deficit of US$496.2 billion in 2024, a historic high. Advertisement 'For the same year, China's international reserve was reduced by US$62.3 billion – the first time since 2019,' the two wrote, noting that 'the yuan was undergoing depreciation pressures against the US dollar last year'. China has undergone 'heavy' capital outflows twice in the 21st century, the economists noted, the first period between 2015 and 2016 – when the average capital account deficit was US$300.6 billion – and the next between 2020 and 2024, when the average was US$216.9 billion.
