Recently, long queues have formed outside the Pop Mart flagship store and its limited-time pop-up at Rinascente department store in central Milan. Some consumers began lining up as early as dawn, all for a small designer toy priced at around €20—Labubu.
The most sought-after limited edition Labubu sold out in less than an hour after release.
What is Labubu?
Labubu is a signature figure from Pop Mart’s “THE MONSTER” series, created by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. With its signature pointy ears, wide eyes, and mischievous grin revealing sharp teeth, Labubu has a distinctive “ugly-cute” aesthetic that sets it apart.
The toy’s unconventional appearance challenges traditional aesthetics and has quickly won over a global following, especially among younger generations who see it as a form of self-expression and cultural identity.
In 2024, Italy welcomed its first physical Pop Mart store, attracting massive crowds on opening day. This year, the brand further fueled its popularity by launching a pop-up at the iconic Rinascente in Milan. The standard Labubu figure retails for around €20, while rare limited editions or collaborative versions are being resold in the secondhand market for several hundred euros or more.
On June 10, the only mint-green Labubu in existence was sold for a record-breaking ¥1.08 million (€127,600) at the Yongle 2025 Spring Auction, setting a new benchmark in the designer toy market.
Pop Mart: Leading the Global Rise of Chinese Designer Toys
Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Beijing, Pop Mart is a trailblazer in China’s designer toy industry. By combining the blind box sales model with deep collaborations with global artists, the company has developed several internationally recognized IPs, including MOLLY, SKULLPANDA, and DIMOO. Among them, Labubu stands out as the most iconic and commercially successful.
According to public data, Pop Mart’s global revenue surpassed ¥13 billion in 2024 (€1.537 billion), with overseas sales accounting for 40% of the total. In the first half of 2024 alone, the Southeast Asian market contributed ¥560 million (€66.22 million) in revenue. In April 2024, Pop Mart’s U.S. store topped TikTok Shop’s U.S. sales chart with monthly sales reaching $6–7 million (€5.52–6.44 million).
The Emotional Consumption Trend Behind the Toy Craze
Labubu’s meteoric rise coincides with a broader trend of “emotional consumption” gaining momentum globally. According to Pacific Securities’ report Embracing the New Consumer Wave, the Chinese consumer landscape is shifting from survival-based to self-fulfillment-based consumption. Emotional value and self-expression are becoming key drivers of purchasing decisions.
Furthermore, the 2025 China Emotional Economy Consumption Insight Report released by Kingsoft predicts that the emotional consumption market in China will exceed ¥2 trillion (€236.5 billion) by 2025. Between 2015 and 2023, China’s designer toy market grew from ¥6.3 billion to ¥60 billion, and Statista estimates it will surpass ¥110 billion (€13 billion) by 2026. Labubu and similar toys are riding this emotional wave to global popularity.
A New Chapter in the Globalization of Chinese IP
The queues outside Pop Mart’s Milan store not only reflect the surging popularity of Labubu, but also highlight the growing presence of Chinese designer toy brands in the global cultural landscape. From the video game phenomenon Black Myth: Wukong to Pop Mart’s international expansion, Chinese IPs are stepping confidently onto the world stage—ushering in a new era of creativity, identity, and market power.
Note: The data in this article are all from Pop Mart’s public financial report and the 2025 China Emotional Economy Consumption Insight Report.
