As Labubu hype wanes, Pop Mart now sees sales outside China falling. Shares of the company fell more than 4 per cent in Hong Kong on Friday after the company disclosed first-half results. Group revenue increased 23.8 per cent to RMB17.17 billion (US$2.55 billion), and profit attributable to shareholders rose 10.1 per cent to RMB5.04 billion. Operating profit rose just 11.3 per cent, while gross profit rose 22.6 per cent. Revenue from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan jumped 47.3
47.3 per cent to RMB12.20 billion and now accounts for 71 per cent of the group, up from 59.7 per cent a year earlier. Meanwhile, overseas revenue fell 11.1 per cent to RMB4.97 billion, the first decline since the company began reporting international sales as a separate segment.
Revenue in Asia Pacific excluding Greater China fell 9.7 per cent, revenue in the Americas fell 16.5 per cent, while revenue in Europe and other regions grew 5.9 per cent.
On the earnings call, founder and chief executive Wang Ning admitted the company would struggle to hit its 20 per cent growth target for the year, and described this year as a year of internal adjustment.
China is carrying the company
The domestic figures are strong, and not just because Pop Mart opened more shops. Store revenue in China rose 38.2 per cent while the store count grew by only 12 over the year, meaning existing shops sold more. Online did even better, up 62.7 per cent to RMB4.78 billion.
The biggest piece was Pop Draw, the online version of the blind box, which rose 83.3 per cent to RMB2.06 billion. Sales on Douyin rose 74 per cent to RMB976 million. Wholesale and other income more than doubled to RMB553 million, helped by the Pop Land theme park, the Pop Bakery dessert chain and the PoPop accessories line.
Abroad, the shops are fine. The websites are not
Overseas, the two channels are moving in opposite directions. Offline sales rose 19.5 per cent in the Americas, 49.8 per cent in Europe and 16.2 per cent in Asia Pacific. Online sales collapsed: down 45.6 per cent in the Americas, 39.8 per cent in Asia Pacific and 59 per cent in Europe. Pop Mart’s own app and website in the Americas, the channel that carried the Labubu boom, fell 44.6 per cent.
In the Americas, Pop Mart went from 41 stores there in June 2025 to 86 a year later, and regional sales still fell.
Chief operating officer Si De told the call that last year’s overseas growth had been driven mainly by Labubu, that many new international customers knew little about the company’s other characters, and that most overseas staff had been hired only in the past year.
Plush is now the main product
Plush toys grew 60 per cent to RMB9.82 billion and now account for 57.2 per cent of sales, overtaking figurines, which were flat at 0.3 per cent growth. Other IP-related products fell 15.8 per cent.
Sales of The Monsters, the family that includes Labubu, fell 7.5 per cent to RMB4.45 billion, its first ever decline, and its share of sales dropped from 34.7 per cent to 26.0 per cent. Twinkle Twinkle grew 580.6 per cent to RMB2.65 billion and is now the second-biggest property.
Crybaby, Dimoo, Skullpanda and Hirono all grew, and each passed RMB1 billion. Molly, marking its twentieth year, fell 33.6 per cent. Eleven characters brought in more than RMB100 million each.
Next move
Pressure at home is now building. Miniso’s Top Toy has filed again to list in Hong Kong, with Kayou and 52Toys behind it, and Miniso’s Wakuku character has shown a rival plush toy can sell out in hours. Frost & Sullivan expects China’s collectable toy market to reach RMB110 billion this year.
Pop Mart’s answer is to give each character more places to live: theme park zones, bakeries, accessories, and a live-action Labubu film announced in March with Sony Pictures. Those are entertainment businesses, and they take years to pay off. The first half shows the character factory works at home. It has yet to show that it works abroad without a craze attached.