Pop Mart has said its profits are expected to jump by 350% in the first half of this year thanks to its international expansion.
👉 Background: Pop Mart is the Hong Kong listed, Chinese toy company known for its “blind box” collectible toys. Essentially, each toy is wrapped in mystery packaging where you don’t know what you’re getting until you open it. While Pop Mart has sold a whole range of collectible toys, nothing has succeeded quite like the Labubu.
👉 What happened: These little elf-creatures with jagged teeth have become a global obession, with celebs like Lisa from BLACKPINK, Dua Lipa and even Kim Kardashian getting involved. Now, Pop Mart has said its profits are expected to jump by 350% in the first half of this year thanks to its international expansion.
👉 What else: Pop Mart has seen its share price jump by almost 600% in the last 12 months. Yes, a toy company has a market cap of $40 billion USD. But Pop Mart ain’t just a toy company, it’s a hype-machine - with limited edition toys and severe FOMO for the Gen Zers that miss out. Nothing like a bit of artificial scarcity to get the juices flowing.
What's the key learning?
💡Artificial scarcity is when companies intentionally limit access to a product… not because they have to, but because it makes us want it more.
💡When marketers make things look rare, our brains race for it. Get this: nearly 60% of Gen Z has bought something purely because they were afraid of missing out (FOMO).
💡Unboxing of Labubu’s has not only become a thrill for the collector, it’s become a TikTok phenomenon. In fact, there are more than 1.2 million videos on TikTok with the hashtag Labubu. So, this artificial scarcity of the Labubu doesn’t just sell products, it sells a feeling. And that feeling has turned the Pop Mart founder into the 10th richest person in China.
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