CASE STUDY-DECODING POP MART’S BLIND BOXES

Background​- ​Toys aren't just a business for kids, they're

also for adults. One kind of toy called Blind Boxes is
becoming very popular with adults. You buy small
figurines packed in a box, without knowing just what
they are. The thrill is in opening the box and then in
trading and collecting all the designs you can.
The Blind Box business originated in Japan and is now
becoming more visible in China. It is a game of luck!
China’s adults express themselves by buying &
collecting these toys.

Pop Mart – ​Founded in 2010 , Pop Mart is a leading

lifestyle retailing company in China. The company has
always been working on making interesting products
which are loved by fans.

Vision​- ‘The company’s vision is to become global

leader in entertainment & pop culture ’ says Lisa Yuan,
an investor at Beijing investment bank China
Renaissance , which backed Pop Mart’s fund raising in
May 2020.

Wang Ning, the man behind Pop Mart​- Wang is a

CEO of the company. In 2009, he graduated in
advertising from Zhengzhou University. In 2010, Wang
convinced his friends to pull some money & founded
Pop Mart. The first store was in an area which was a hub
for tech companies in Beijing. Initially Pop Mart was
into accessories, bags, beauty, candies, toys etc. Toys
became company’s the best selling category & in 2014
the company focussed exclusively on toys.

Demographics- ​Pop Mart’s main target audience is

between 18-35 years old urban white-collar employees
& students. 75% of consumers are females.

Molly​- Hong- Kong based Kenny Wong was selling a

doll called Molly which already had small group of fans.
In 2016, Wang Ning offered Kenny to make Molly a Pop
Mart line. Pop Mart’s sales began to pick up.​ In March
2016, Pop Mart became the exclusive authorized
manufacturer and seller of Molly in the Chinese
mainland after three months of negotiations. The firm
spent around a million yuan, a staggering amount by
industrial standards than, developing models and
manufacturing the first series of Molly.​ ​Wong’s Molly
series, accounted for 27% of 2019 sales.
Co-branding- ​Pop Mart has​ ​partnered with other
designers to come out with product lines like Baby Sushi,
3 Pigs, Labubu etc.

Prices​- Molly Dolls prices range from Rmb39 to Rmb69.

Sales Channels​- Pop Mart has 114 brick and mortar

stores in 53 first-tier and second-tier cities across the
country, mostly located in mainstream commercial areas.
These stores, which remain the firm’s main sales
channel, aim to offer the fullest stocks and also play a
key role in promoting brand images and maintain
relations with consumers.
Meanwhile, its online store at Tmall topped the 2018
sales chart for the toy and model category, constantly
drawing new customers. In 2019, the store’s sales during
the Nov. 11 Singles Day surpassed Lego and Bandai.

Market​-​Pop Mart is not the only seller of blind boxes,

but it has a lead. According to industry-research firm
Frost and Sullivan, Pop Mart has 8.5% of the market; its
next closest rival, which was not named, had 7.7%. For
now, Pop Mart isn’t officially sold beyond mainland
China, but its products can be purchased through
Alibaba’s global e-commerce platform AliExpress and
some items have shown up on Amazon and eBay.

Loyal customers​- Some of the customers can be termed

as fanatical. One consumer said that she spends more
than Rmb 7 lakh a year on Molly dolls !
Nicole Song, 38 is a HR manager at a financial firm in
Beijing . She is an avid collector of Pop Mart toys. Song
says ‘Blind boxes are so much different from what I have
seen in the past. I like the toys’ design, and when I open
the boxes, the experience is a bit of a gamble.’

Present sales​- In 2019, company’s sales was $240

million double than 2018. Its net income in 2019 was $
63 million.

What is the way forward for Pop Mart ?