The Chinese art toy market has shown robust growth, with related companies reporting generally positive performance in the first quarter of this year.
Pop Mart, a leading Chinese art toy brand, estimated its first-quarter revenue increased by 75% to 80% compared to the same period last year. Notably, sales in the mainland Chinese market more than doubled year-on-year, demonstrating strong consumer demand despite sluggish domestic conditions.
However, growth in overseas markets has shown signs of slowing. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose by 25% to 30%, while the Americas saw an increase of 55% to 60%, and Europe and other regions grew by 60% to 65%. Compared to last year's explosive overseas growth, these figures indicate a significant decline, raising concerns about the sustainability of future growth.
In response, Pop Mart stated, "We will further enhance the commercial value of the Labubu intellectual property (IP) through high-quality products and rich content." The company plans to expand its business beyond product sales to create a comprehensive IP ecosystem that includes Labubu film production and the development of a Labubu theme park.
Miniso also continued its solid performance. As the second-largest art toy brand in China, owning Top Toy, Miniso reported first-quarter sales of up to 5.73 billion yuan, marking an increase of approximately 28% to 29% year-on-year, with net profits expected to surge by as much as 200%. The rapid growth of Top Toy appears to be driving this improvement.
Consequently, Miniso is pursuing plans to spin off Top Toy and list it separately. The company submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last month.
Unlike Pop Mart, Top Toy adopts a strategy of sourcing 70% of its products from external IP characters. This approach contrasts with Pop Mart's focus on its own characters, allowing Top Toy to quickly introduce various popular IPs and expand its market share. Sun Yuanwen, the founder of Top Toy, remarked, "If Pop Mart is the iOS of the art toy industry, then Top Toy is Android."
Additionally, 52 Toys, which has received investment from the Chinese video platform Bilibili, has been rumored to be preparing for a listing on the Hong Kong stock market since last year.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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