BEIJING, July 2 (Xinhua) -- Labubu, the iconic IP of Pop Mart, continues to win fans across Europe, the United States and Southeast Asia. Its recent popularity on global platforms highlights that emotional value has emerged as the core driver of consumer spending.
Pop Mart's IP Labubu has dominated social media as a viral sensation, with the launch of Labubu 3.0 igniting global queues at stores.
By the end of 2024, it had established 120 offline stores and 172 vending machines across over 30 countries.
Singapore now hosts nine Pop Mart stores, matching Lego's presence. Locals frequently carry Labubu on backpacks as a fashion statement.
Ariel Faye, a 30-year-old Singaporean office worker, said that emotional value fuels the passion for collecting. She and her husband amassed over 160 Pop Mart figurines in just four months, filling four display cases. They were drawn to Labubu's "lovely and soothing" designs.
Emotional spending also drives industrial upgrades. A 2025 consumer insight report forecasts a 14 percent three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for the collectible toy economy. JPMorgan Chase forecasts that sales for Pop Mart's "The Monsters" series, featuring Labubu, will reach 14 billion yuan by 2027.
Labubu's edgy aesthetic subverts traditional collectible toy norms. Experts note it has become a symbol of distinctive taste for youth seeking to express individuality.
Following its success in Southeast Asia, Pop Mart expanded to Europe and the United States. London now boasts five Pop Mart standalone stores, as well as spaces in Hamleys and Harrods.
During peak hours, queues at Pop Mart's London Chinatown and Oxford Street stores exceed 20 minutes. High demand for Labubu 3.0 even led to a temporary suspension of sales across the UK. The London Chinatown store attracts 2,000-3,000 daily visitors, 90 percent of whom are British or European.
Popular items like Crybaby consistently sell out, said a manager, adding that Pop Mart plans to open additional standalone stores in London, though details have yet to be finalized.
An analyst credits Pop Mart's global success to product innovation, such as Labubu's enamel-shaggy hybrid design, and mastery of complex blind box mechanisms.
Southeast Asian, European, and the United States markets lag slightly in trendy toys, the analyst noted, explaining that this gap allows Chinese innovation and emotion-driven consumption to fuel further overseas expansion. (Contributed by Liu Xuyang and Li Tangning, edited by Yang Yajun, Yang Yifan with Xinhua Silk Road, yangyifan@xinhua.org)
A single purchase
