(BFM Stock Exchange) – A real planetary phenomenon, the Labubu -fired stuffed animals are so popular that they cause real riots with each new outing. Behind these coveted critters hides the giant of the Chinese Pop Mart toy whose action has soared more than 170% since the start of the year, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. And even 600% over a year.

The ex-footballer David Beckham, the singers Rihanna and Dua Lipa … These celebrities have one thing in common. Those to proudly display a Labu figurine, hanging on their bag. The labubu, which should be pronounced “Laboubou” are small colored stuffed animals, with large ears, malicious air and sharp teeth. These well -recognizable figurines are a bit of monchichi – better known in France under the name of “Kiki” – new generation.

If their popularity has exploded in recent months, these little creatures have been around since 2015 thanks to the pencil stroke of the Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung. Then, in 2019, it was the giant of the Chinese Pop Mart toy who was seduced by these little boils by giving them life in the form of keystands.

“The phenomenon really exploded in 2024 when Lisa of the K-Pop Blackpink group began to wear one of these little stuffed animals as an accessory on its bag. Sales flew in March, when other celebrities also started to get them,” said our colleagues from RMC Cons Consu Pierre Tettart, Director General France of Whatnot, a live purchase platform.

Mystery boxes and riots

Why these figurines arouse as much enthusiasm when they are evolving at the antipodes of beauty standards conveyed by certain dolls? These figurines are “a little strange, ugly, but very inclusive, so people identify themselves,” Lucy Shitova, an interior decorator, told AFP in a Pop Mart store in London.

Unsurprisingly, the virality of videos posted on Tiktok gave an impressive echo to this trend. In particular the many “unboxing” videos, which can be translated as “unpacking” videos in the language of Molière. The Labus are indeed sold in mysteries, which amplifies this frenzy around these dolls sold between 20 and 30 euros.

Some limited editions can even resell hundreds of euros. Even the price of a (small) Parisian studio. A giant Labu sculpture of 131 centimeters was sold for the tidy sum of $ 170,000, or 150,000 euros, during the first auction dedicated to these dolls.

“Pop Mart made Disney Ringard with its Labu stuffed animals that sell like hotcakes in particular to world famous fans like Rihanna, or David Beckham!”, Said Céline Piquemal-Prade, president of Piquemal Houghton Investments in the BFM Bursus show on Monday, June 30.

The success is such that Pop Mart had to temporarily withdraw its figurines from the South Korean and British markets after many overflows and chaos scenes in the store. The crooks did not take long to smell the right vein, and false resale sites of Labubu counterfeits swarm on the internet.

Pop Mart stock market explosion

On the stock market, Pop Mart is also a real card. Listed in Hong Kong, Pop Mart action flew 173% since the start of the year, and even 600% over a year*.

Unsurprisingly, this surge in the stock market course is to be put in perspective with the meteoric rise in the results of the Chinese giant. Little Labus have indeed boosted Pop Mart accounts. In 2024, the turnover of the Chinese company doubled to exceed 13 billion yuan, or 1.55 billion euros. In 2020, the toy giant’s revenues were only 2.5 billion yuan, or 300 million euros.

“The global phenomenon of Labu last year propelled the turnover of The Monsters (the other name of the Labu) beyond 3 billion yuan,” said Pop Mart in its 2024 annual report.

This beautiful dynamic continued at the start of the year. Pop Mart said that turnover in the United States had jumped approximately 900% in annual shift in the first quarter of 2025, while sales in Europe jumped 600% over the same period. The out of China demand even exceeds that observed in continental China.

“The expansion of Pop Mart in the West capitalizes on this demand: more than 70% of its sales in Europe and the United States now come from local consumers, and no longer from Chinese expatriates or tourists,” said a note from China Merchants SECURITIES International, taken up by Bloomberg

However, Pop Mart sells his toys abroad more than China. This explains why Pop Mart gives off copious margins. In 2024, the gross margin exploded at almost 67%, out of far mini, a Chinese chain of accessories, which gave it a margin of 45%, noted the financial media.

Pop Mart can make margins up to around 75% in the United States, despite customs duties, according to a note by Morgan Stanley quoted by Bloomberg. The design office also expects sales in North America to match China by 2028-2029.

The same design office today considers Pop Mart as one of the world’s fastest growth in the world of ever recorded. Morgan Stanley also estimates that Pop Mart turnover will reach $ 6 billion in 2027, an increase of more than 500% compared to 2023.

A manager who had a hollow nose

If the projections of Morgan Stanley came to materialize, they would delight the Chinese fund Penghua Selected Return Flexible Allocation Mixed Fund and his young driver, Xie Tianyuan, only 30 years old. This fund recorded a performance of 24% this year, ranking among the most efficient 3% of the approximately 2,300 comparable funds, according to data from the East Money Information CO funds cited by Bloomberg.

An article by the press agency tells the incredible bet of this young fund manager, who took the reins of this vehicle at the beginning of 2024. As soon as he took office, he had a hollow nose, ousting what was the main participation of the fund, Kweichow Moutai Co, a Baijiu distiller (very popular water of life in China, editor’s note).

Bloomberg explains that the conviction of the manager was strengthened after having noticed the popularity of the products of the toy manufacturer in Thailand. This conviction is overlooked in a more global strategy which consists in identifying the consumption trends of the Z generation (people born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s) whose purchasing decisions were guided by emotional triggers and the interest in leisure.

Pop Mart is not the only master stroke of Xie Tianyuan. He also chose to bet on the success of the Mao Geping Cosmetics cosmetics brand, which increased by more than 78% this year, or the specialist in animal nutrition Yantai China Pet Foods (+78%). In many countries like China, pet expenses have accelerated significantly in recent years.

*Variations stopped at the end of Thursday July 3