Shenzhen, June 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — [Shenzhen, China] – [June 1, 2025] – MoonFox Data, a leading provider of market intelligence and data analytics, today released its latest report, “Pop Mart Business Decoded: Measuring the Value of Emotional Consumption.” The report reveals how Pop Mart, a pioneer in the pop toy industry, has leveraged emotional consumption and IP innovation to achieve record-breaking growth and global expansion in 2024 and 2025.
The year 2025 is undoubtedly a landmark year for Pop Mart. At the end of March, the company released financial results that drew wide attention across the industry: Pop Mart’s 2024 revenue exceeded RMB 13 billion, a fivefold increase since its listing on the HKEX in 2020. Just before the Labor Day holiday, the Pop Mart app topped the U.S. App Store shopping chart for the first time, with American consumers queuing overnight to purchase new releases. Despite tariff pressures, its new products continued to see rapid growth overseas…
16 years after its founding, Pop Mart’s ambition to “become a global super IP” is gradually materializing. What was once a trend-led toy store has transformed into a spiritual refuge for young people. So how exactly has Pop Mart captured the hearts of youth both in China and abroad? And what challenges lie ahead?
I. A Look Back: Repeated Comebacks in Brand Development
1. In the Early Stages, Focused Track and Model Innovation Drove Growth
Founded in 2010, Pop Mart began as an offline “trendy variety store” and struggled to survive amid the rise of e-commerce. In 2015, the founder drew inspiration from Japan’s blind box trend and introduced the popular Hong Kong pop toy BabyMolly to the Chinese mainland market. Pop Mart also secured domestic distribution rights for Japan’s Sonny Angel, successfully pivoting from a variety store to a curated pop toy store.
However, in the following year, the termination of several IP licensing agreements forced the company to pivot again. Pop Mart began aggressively seeking collaborations with original designers to acquire copyright partnerships. In 2016, it launched its own IP blind box product, the Molly Zodiac Series, which became a growth driver. At the time, Pop Mart’s pop toy model of fast product rotation, bulk sales, and the blind box mechanism was a novelty that disrupted the traditional toy market. From then on, Pop Mart shifted from an offline retail distributor to an IP operator, with Molly becoming its signature icon.
2. After Going Public: Diversification to Break the Revenue Ceiling
Pop Mart entered the overseas market in 2018 and continued its steady revenue growth after its 2020 IPO. However, from 2020 to 2022, its gross profit margin declined continuously. By 2022, Pop Mart hit a growth bottleneck, with negative product reviews on social media indicating weakening consumer interest in blind boxes.
In 2022, Pop Mart’s gross profit margin dropped by 4%, and operating profit fell by 49%. Domestically, revenue declined not only due to pandemic-related disruptions to offline store sales, but also because of a slump in online channel performance.
Table 1: Pop Mart Annual Revenue and Profit Changes (2018 – 2024)
| Year | Revenue | Gross Profit | Operating Profit | Gross Profit Margin | Revenue Growth | Gross Profit Growth | Operating Profit Growth | ||||
| 2018 | 0.51 billion | 0.3 billion | 0.13 billion | 57.9 | % | 225 | % | 296 | % | 2951 | % |
| 2019 | 1.68 billion | 1.09 billion | 0.6 billion | 64.8 | % | 227 | % | 266 | % | 348 | % |
| 2020 | 2.51 billion | 1.59 billion | 0.72 billion | 63.4 | % | 49 | % | 46 | % | 20 | % |
| 2021 | 4.49 billion | 2.76 billion | 1.15 billion | 61.4 | % | 79 | % | 73 | % | 60 | % |
| 2022 | 4.62 billion | 2.65 billion | 0.58 billion | 57.5 | % | 3 | % | -4 | % | -49 | % |
| 2023 | 6.3 billion | 3.86 billion | 1.23 billion | 61.3 | % | 36 | % | 46 | % | 111 | % |
| 2024 | 13.04 billion | 8.71 billion | 4.15 billion | 66.8 | % | 107 | % | 125 | % | 238 | % |
Data Source: Company financial reports, compiled by MoonFox Research Institute.
Table 2: Pop Mart Annual Online and Offline Revenue Changes (2020 – 2024)
| Year | Online Channel Revenue | YoY | ||