Pop Mart International Group Ltd. (HKG: 9992), the Chinese toy company renowned for its captivating “blind box” collectible figures like the wildly popular Labubu dolls, is at the forefront of a dramatic shift in its market presence and revenue base. This transformation is largely driven by its comprehensive branding strategy and a surge in demand from markets outside mainland China.
The Allure of the Blind Box: Pop Mart’s Core Appeal and Branding Strategy
At its heart, Pop Mart’s success is built upon the “blind box” concept, which originated in Japan and has evolved into a trendy product, particularly appealing to young people. The mystery of what’s inside, combined with artistic value and collection potential, ignites consumer enthusiasm. Pop Mart figures, often integrating Pop culture elements like music, fashion, and current trends, resonate with diverse customer groups.
Pop Mart employs four principal approaches in its consumption strategy to sell products: online marketing, offline marketing, hunger marketing, and co-marketing.
Online Marketing
This strategy leverages social media platforms for precise customer targeting and active engagement, fostering strong fan communities that enhance brand loyalty and drive design ideas. Pop Mart utilizes its official website for direct sales and product showcases. It also strategically partners with major Chinese e-commerce platforms like Tmall, JD.com, and Douyin to boost exposure and sales channels, while cross-border marketplaces such as Amazon, Shopee, and Lazada, along with social commerce channels like TikTok Shop, play a growing role in international sales. The goal is to replicate the physical store experience online, turning curious consumers into loyal buyers.
Offline Marketing
Pop Mart places significant emphasis on its physical stores, which are noted for their unique decoration styles and high-quality service, enhancing the customer experience. These stores, often located in high-traffic shopping malls, attract a wide demographic, making them prime locations for brand exposure. Offline activities and promotions centered around IP themes also serve to gather regular customers and build trust. Furthermore, Pop Mart utilizes Key Opinion Leader (KOL) cooperative marketing through cross-border alliances and IP co-branding to boost product visibility and cultivate a positive brand reputation.
Hunger Marketing
This method incentivizes purchases by creating scarcity. Pop Mart employs a strategy of fixed and “hidden” products tied to models, encouraging consumers to make immediate, one-time purchases in hopes of drawing a rare item. The probability of drawing a hidden blind box is 1 in 144.
Co-marketing
Cross-border collaborations infuse the brand with depth and a multi-dimensional appeal, creating synergistic benefits.
IP and Consumer Behavior: Driving Market Effects
Pop Mart’s success is deeply intertwined with its popular IP marketing model. The company manages proprietary IPs (like Molly, which accounted for 14.2% of total revenue in 2019), exclusive licensed IPs (such as Pucky, generating $30.09 billion in revenue from exclusive licensed IP), and non-exclusive licensed IPs (collaborations with well-known characters like Disney’s Zootopia, Marvel, and Harry Potter).
The target audience for Pop Mart products is predominantly young individuals, particularly females. Consumer behavior is heavily influenced by social recommendation, with social media and word-of-mouth playing a powerful role in sales. The thrill of “collecting” amplified by blind box purchases also contributes to their social appeal. For many, the exhilarating moment of unveiling a long-awaited doll provides a gratifying reward, fueling further purchases. The uncertainty inherent in blind boxes can lead to prolonged purchasing behavior. Beyond material goods, blind boxes often fulfill daily emotional needs, offering “emotional sustenance” and a sense of spiritual satisfaction, tapping into “Crowd psychology” among young consumers.
However, the brand faces challenges. Blind boxes, being trend-driven, have a relatively low use value, and consumer satisfaction may decrease with repeated purchases or as trends shift. Unlike established characters like Disney or Marvel, Pop Mart’s proprietary IPs often lack detailed backstories or rich personalities, potentially leading to lower user stickiness as the novelty wears off. This single-product supply reliance makes Pop Mart’s strategy risky compared to competitors like TOP TOY, which offers a broader range of categories and price points. The cyclical nature of blind box popularity necessitates continuous creation of attractive new IPs to maintain high revenue.
Late Market Revenue and Global Expansion
Pop Mart is currently undergoing a significant shift in its revenue landscape, with international markets becoming the dominant force.
Projected International Revenue
Visible Alpha consensus estimates project revenue from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and other overseas markets to reach CNY13.1 billion in 2025, more than doubling the CNY5 billion generated in 2024.
Projected Mainland China Revenue
Domestic sales in Mainland China are expected to rise more modestly to CNY11.8 billion in 2025, up from CNY8 billion in 2024. This marks a turning point for the Beijing-based company, which previously relied heavily on its home market.
Mainland China’s revenue share
is expected to fall from 61% in 2024 to 47% in 2025, further declining to 31% by 2030.
Conversely
International markets are forecast to represent 52% of revenue in 2025, projected to rise significantly to 69% by the end of the decade.
To meet this surging global demand, Pop Mart is rapidly expanding its international presence. Analysts anticipate the company will open 105 retail stores and 87 vending machines (Roboshops) outside Mainland China in 2025, bringing the total number of international outlets to 475. Within mainland China, plans include adding 22 stores and 61 Roboshops, increasing the domestic total to 2,784.
Furthermore, Pop Mart is experiencing meaningful growth in e-commerce revenues, with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 32% between 2025 and 2030. This growth is fueled by its own website and app, major Chinese platforms, and cross-border marketplaces, with social commerce channels like TikTok Shop playing an increasingly vital role in driving international sales. The viral interest in its Labubu figures has significantly powered Pop Mart’s overseas success, building a growing fanbase across Asia, Europe, and the US.
In conclusion, Pop Mart’s imaginative selling methods, combined with its diverse marketing strategies and keen understanding of consumer behavior, have allowed it to gain significant popularity. Its strategic expansion and the rising demand from international markets are poised to redefine its revenue base, signaling a future with immense possibilities for the brand. To sustain this growth, future development suggestions include enriching products beyond blind boxes, adding compelling storylines to its IPs, and cultivating deeper emotional connections with consumers to enhance collection value and user stickiness.
