Pop Mart has a turnover of more than 200 million yuan ($30.3 million) from the sale of 4 million copies of Molly (about $9 each) in one year(LI XIAOYU)
Molly, Labubu, Dimoo ... While these characters might not be as famous as Marvel superheroes, they make up a whole universe for pop figurine lovers, like Zhang Jiajia, a 26-year-old office worker who lives in Beijing. Every day, she goes window-shopping during her lunch break with colleagues at Pop Mart, a large distributor of pop figurines, on the first floor of their office building. "In the evenings, I love taking care of my figurine collection. It's my favorite part of the day. To me, they're works of art," she said, as excited as a child. A whole wall of her house is dedicated to her figurine collection, including a series called One Day of Molly, where you can immerse yourself in an adventure with this pouting little girl.
Despite their miniature size, pop figurines blend design, painting, sculpture and other elements from the art world. Today, many Chinese fans collect them and even participate in their design. As a result, Pop Mart has a turnover of more than 200 million yuan ($30.3 million) from the sale of 4 million copies of Molly (about $9 each) in one year. According to a research report by Tianfeng Securities, China's market for pop figurines has grown from 6.3 billion yuan ($955 million) in 2015 to 20.7 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) in 2019, with a compound annual growth rate of 34.6 percent. But this new social phenomenon also represents another trend: a change in consumer behavior and an increasingly complete supply chain.
Since the launch of the blind box, an increasing number of young people are becoming interested in pop figures(LI XIAOYU)
Emotional support
According to Pop Mart statistics, Generation Z (people born between 1995 and 2009) is the main contributor to the business growth. Members of this generation care less about material possessions. They are more interested in satisfying their emotional needs and pursuing their personal interests, whatever the cost. Figurines have no expressions, which allows figure lovers to project their own emotions on them. "A hundred people will buy Molly for a hundred different reasons. These collectibles have no moral value. So it's not their soul that affects you, it's your soul that shapes them," said Wang Ning, founder of Pop Mart.
Unlike cartoon-derived toys like Iron Man, pop figurines typically have no story to tell. This lowers the level of knowledge required to understand their concept, and young people who lack free time are therefore more willing to buy into it.
For some collectors, pop figurines provide emotional support. Among Pop Mart's clients is a 60-year-old man who has a soft spot for Molly and spent about 700,000 yuan ($106,120) in 2019. While his relationship with his only daughter is so strained that they hardly talk to each other, Molly's face reminds him of his daughter when she was five years old, and the good times they had together. This story also supports 56-year-old Wang Xiuqin's belief that "there is no age limit for being passionate about pop figures." The first time she saw one, this art lover was amazed by its finesse and the high quality of craftsmanship. The unit price of $9 finally got the better of her. Since then, she has been totally hooked, just like her daughter.
"I recently retired. It's always difficult to retire from a busy professional life. This new passion allows me to get to know young people," she told ChinAfrica. "We now have more things in common. It makes me happy, and I find myself feeling young and carefree again."
A Pop Mart robotshop in a shopping mall in Beijing(LI XIAOYU)
Magic of blind box
Since the launch of the blind box (hidden edition), Zhang Jiajia noticed that an increasing number of young people around her were becoming interested in pop figurines. "Imagine buying a pop figurine packed in a box that doesn't display any details, and you won't know which model it is until you open the box! It's a lot of fun," she said.
In this case, each series generally contains 12 different models and a hidden edition figurine with a production ratio of 1/144. Pushed by their curiosity, amateurs have developed a strong desire to collect miniatures, some of whom do not hesitate to pay a high price. On the second-hand market, the trade-in price can reach 10 times higher or even more. According to a report released by Guosheng Securities in early June, more than 200,000 people spent over 20,000 yuan ($3,032) on blind boxes in 2019. The market's value in the mid-to-long-term is expected to reach 10 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).
The desire to share also facilitates social interaction among pop figure fans. Ms. Wang still vividly remembers the day she first discovered a hidden edition: "It was in a Pop Mart store. As soon as I opened the box, a girl screamed behind me, and a crowd immediately swarmed over me to share this inexplicable joy. That's how I discovered the magic of the blind box," she said with amusement.
Focus on design
As Wang Ning points out, the blind box is just a marketing strategy. The most fascinating aspect is always what is hidden inside - the creativity and design of the figurines. In reality, the popularity of these collector's items is inseparable from the designers' excellence. While these designers, including Molly's creator Kenny Wong, enjoyed a certain amount of fame among connoisseurs, they previously lacked the means to produce them on a large scale and market them. Giant distributors such as Pop Mart saw this as a golden opportunity.
Wang Ning regards his company as a design agency that recruits famous designers and trains budding creators to develop and benefit from intellectual property. Its production chain now includes design studios, manufacturing plants, retail distribution, and international toy fairs.
To encourage young talents to take an interest in this sector, Pop Mart has been working in collaboration with the Central Academy of Fine Arts of China to organize seminars on pop figurines.
Currently, an increasing number of designers, illustrators and sculptors have joined the sector. As pop figurines become more creative and versatile, the list of these cute tiny characters is likely to keep growing.
(Print Edition Title: Quiet Companions)
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