LABUBU sells 100 million units worldwide last year
Global surge of Chinese IP
"Expansion of Chinese IP...reshaping the art toy industry"
Chinese character LABUBU, which sells three units every second worldwide, is reshaping the global art toy market. In the art toy segment, which goes beyond simple toys to incorporate artistic value, Chinese intellectual property (IP) is shedding the low-cost "Made in China" image and rapidly emerging as a new global front-runner.
On December 1 last year, a customer was selecting character merchandise at the CJ Olive Young and Pop Mart Korea collaborative pop-up store set up at Olive Young N Seongsu in Seongdong-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
On February 8 (local time), Chinese state-run media outlet Global Times reported that Pop Mart said global sales of its flagship LABUBU series exceeded 100 million units last year. This means that consumers around the world are purchasing more than three LABUBU figures every second. Pop Mart added that the combined total sales volume of all its characters, including LABUBU, has surpassed 400 million units.
Industry experts analyzed that Pop Mart's performance demonstrates the potential for China's art toy industry to secure a leading position in the global market. They also assessed that Pop Mart is regarded as a model for the global expansion of homegrown Chinese IP. According to Pop Mart, its products are currently sold in more than 100 countries, and the company operates around 700 stores worldwide based on six major supply chain bases. As of last year, Pop Mart had over 10,000 employees globally, and its registered membership exceeded 100 million.
The landscape of China's art toy industry began to change last year. Chinese IP WAKUKU, which has recently gained global recognition, posted sales of 89.73 million yuan (approximately 8.95815 billion won) in the previous fiscal quarter. From July 1 to September 30 last year, ZIYULI, a brand popular among Chinese consumers, recorded sales of 20.76 million yuan, while SINONO, launched in July last year, achieved sales of 12.89 million yuan.
Ye Guofu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Chinese lifestyle brand MINISO, stated that the company plans to increase its number of global stores to 10,000 within the next three years and aims to bring 100 Chinese IPs into overseas markets.
According to Xinhua News Agency, in the first to third quarters of last year, China’s exports of festival supplies, dolls, and animal-themed toys exceeded 500 billion yuan and were shipped to more than 200 countries, with Chinese art toy products accounting for a significant share. Xinhua News Agency also reported that the production value of the art toy industrial cluster in Dongguan, Guangdong Province, increased from 126.22 billion yuan in 2022 to 155.06 billion yuan in 2024, that local companies’ research and development investment grew by an average of 31%, and that the number of independent IPs exceeded 100.
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