Chinese Labubu threatens Disney: Pop Mart manufacturer builds an empire on viral toys

Chinese company Pop Mart, creator of the toothy monster Labubu, is borrowing from Disney's playbook to turn an instant hit into a global franchise that will thrive for decades. This is reported by Reuters.

In a rare interview with foreign media, Pop Mart's CEO and co-founder Si De explained how the company plans to develop the character into content, entertainment, and merchandising, avoiding the trap of fleeting popularity. 

Labubu conquered the world not through cheapness, but through emotional charm and creativity

Pop Mart has already achieved the impossible: Labubu became the first Chinese product to conquer the world not through cheapness, but through emotional charm and creativity. The company's shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange have skyrocketed nearly 200% since the beginning of the year, and its market value has exceeded the combined total of Hasbro, Mattel, and Sanrio. Analysts are concerned about the reliance on a single character, but Pop Mart is confident that success is not a fleeting spike but a platform for growth.

"We have long learned from Disney. The true value of this company lies in long-term management of intellectual property, even 100 years ahead. Even when Labubu's popularity fades, we will develop it into an ecosystem, just like Disney does with its top IPs", - explained Si De, citing Mickey Mouse as an example, born nearly a century ago as a cartoon character.

How Labubu plans to stay popular for decades

Instead, the focus for the near term is not on finding the "next hit", but on investing in the current one. Si De did not disclose deadlines or budgets - this is the first interview of the top manager since 2022 - but outlined the priorities:

• improving products and collaborations;

• creating content and entertainment;

• building theme parks;

• modernizing store displays.

"Pop Mart sells a lifestyle that consumers buy into because they want to be part of it", - comments Louis Goodart, managing partner at Mad in China. 

The company's margins are already competing with luxury brands, emphasizing the shift from mass-market to premium culture.

The story of Labubu is a paradox of success. Emerging as an art toy, the monster became a social media phenomenon where fans collect figures for hundreds of dollars. Founded in 2010, Pop Mart started with street vending machines, but today its capitalization stands at $7 billion.

Earlier we wrote that the Labubu toy became more popular than Barbie and LEGO.