Recognizing the rising number of Kidultsin Beijing, Beijing-based collectible toys company POP MART has taken collectibles that go beyond fandoms to a whole new level and has created a massive phenomenon within the Chinese toy market. It is predicted that the segment of collectible toys in China will grow to 47.8 billion RMB (approximately 7.41 billion USD) in 2022. This will include approximately 1,500 companies participating on the market. In spite of the increasing market competition within the Chinese market for art toys following POP MART’s first success in 2016 the company constantly seeks to remain a step over its competitors, and is an innovator in the market. Due to the huge popularity with art-themed toys China, POP MART is expanding its operations around the globe.
Blind Box as the Key to penetrate the Mass Market Retail
Prior to POP MART the collectibles market in China were just a subculture which became popular among niche fanatics and were offered in stores that were specialized. It was the blind box which POP MART used to sell collectibles, which led to the current boom in the industry of collectible toys across the United States. A blind box purchase is like unboxing the toy you’ve been waiting for, but not knowing what specific figurine you’ll receive. People are enthralled by the anticipation and excitement of collecting the rarest toys, which could be sold for over ten times that of their initial price. It’s not a stretch to think of blind boxes as the most important element in collector toys, opening up the world of collectors to general market. Blind boxes were then introduced to the brick-and mortar channel. They are available in all shopping centers or toy store and, sometimes, becoming the most popular spot for sales. Apart from toys that are collectible such as athe Xiao Genshin Impact, additional merchandise such as stationery and even clothing, are also available in blind-boxes.
This strategy for sales is efficient. Based on the most recent half-year financial statement, POP MART generated a total revenues of USD 275 million, which is the increase being 116.8 percent YoY. In 2020 POP MART sold more than 50 million of toys which resulted the total annual revenue of $382 million and demonstrating 49.3 percent growth over the previous year.
IP Operation as the Essential
In the event that blind box were POP MART’s trigger for the trend of art toys The company’s IP (Intellectual Properties) operation, in addition to design and creation are the foundations of POP MART’s growth.
Before the explosion of art-toys within China, POP MART began its foundations in the year 2010 by establishing IP operations. POP MART finds talented artists who have the potential to gain a large following all over the world. With a highly sophisticated and comprehensive IP management system, the artists are able to create numerous series of well-known IPs as well as new, intriguing characters for the entertainment industry. In total, POP MART operates over 100 IPs including the top four including Molly, Dimoo, PUCKY along with The Monsters.
While at the same time, POP MART has endeavoured to spread the love of art toys by involving the involvement of artists and consumers to create a community of art-toy enthusiasts around the world. For instance, POP MART hosts PTS (Pop Toy Show, Asia’s largest toy event) each year for two days to bring in world-class art toys creators and fans across the globe. In addition, POP MART’s online community keeps customers engaged and builds brand loyalty.
Omnichannel to Cover the Large Consumer Base
The opportunities and challenges created by the pandemic have prompted POP MART to make significant advancements in the flexibility of its supply chain and digital integration of the customer-membership programs.
Supply chain Flexibility:
To reach a broad consumer market, POP MART has adopted an omnichannel design, which includes brick-and-mortar stores, Robo shops online stores, and an “blind box machine” mini-app. The quantity of retail stores and Robo shops is constantly growing. For China, POP MART runs 215 retail stores as well as 1477 Robo stores. In the first half of this year, revenue from online stores as well as”blind box machine” mini apps “blind box machine” mini-app has seen more than a 100% increase in sales, barely exceeding the offline channels.
Digital integration for customer membership programs:
There are around. 4.02 million new members in the POP MART membership program and the total count is 11.42 million customers. The membership program’s fan base is responsible for more than 90% of total sales and has an average repurchase of 49% for the beginning of the year 2021.
Global Footprint
Due to its massive success with its huge success in China, POP MART has focused its attention on international market. POP MART is expanding its international reach by launching its global website and third-party online shopping marketplaces (Amazon, Shopee, and AliExpress) as well as social media. The key to success is the ability to localize. For example, POP MART hires local social media teams to ensure their content is relevant to the local community and also creates exclusive campaigns and products for particular regions and countries that match the tastes of different lifestyles and cultures. POP MART cooperates with many wonderful partners from around the world to establish stores and build an expanded business. The company currently has shops located in Korea, Singapore, Japan and Canada as well as in the future in the future, it is expected that the United States, Europe, and Australia could also be seeing the opening of POP MART shops.
Alongside retail, POP MART also partakes in licensing. POP MART has partnerships with internationally renowned brands like Harry Potter, Sanrio, and many more as licensedes, as well as Fresh Kiehl’s and many more as licensors.
In 2020, POP MART’s business overseas has experienced a significant growth of 175 percent YoY.
Future Plans
From a product standpoint, POP MART is investing more in top-quality art toys by exploring digitisation. For instance, the MEGA Collection 1000% Space Molly that was released in the year 2000 comes by an NFC chip that allows for identification. Every art toy comes with an unique ID for the product which will be used verify authenticity on POP MART’s official POP MART web site. In the near future the company will expand to other online platforms to further encourage the digitization of art toy.
Additionally, POP MART plans to expand its international reach in the near future, which includes new stores and its online presence through online marketing and e-commerce channels. It will continue to expand its reach to new markets, while enhancing the brand’s image through technological innovation and delighting customers with unique, vibrant artist and intellectual property.
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