🎧 Pop Mart gets the Bloomberg boost
Bloomberg just handed Pop Mart a major bullish narrative: “cool China” design + tariff-proof demand = investor catnip. Short-term, expect social buzz and maybe a small retail-investor pop in 09992.HK. Longer-term, the real test is whether Pop Mart can keep spinning fresh IP before Labubu’s sugar rush wears off. We’ll be tracking.
Missed the episode? Search “Big Take Asia — How Pop Mart Became a Bright Spot for China’s Economy” on your podcast app.
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Why it matters
First mainstream tariff lens: Bloomberg is the first major outlet to ask whether sky-high U.S. tariffs will really dent demand for Labubu & friends. Their answer: demand is so inelastic that higher landed costs barely move the needle.
Signals institutional appetite: The pod repeatedly calls Pop Mart “one of the hottest stocks this year,” drawing a straight line between viral blind-boxes and a share price trading at >50× earnings — richer than Disney and Sanrio. That framing invites momentum investors, not just collectors.
Sets a “defy-the-trade-war” narrative: By comparing Pop Mart’s appeal to the 1990s “Cool Japan” wave, Bloomberg positions the brand as proof China can export original IP, not just cheap goods. That’s powerful macro storytelling.
Between the lines
Elasticity ≠ immunity: Higher tariffs will eventually meet limits once Pop Mart moves beyond ultra-fans. Monitoring U.S. price points after the next round of hikes will be key.
Store math matters: The pod cites 1,330 overseas outlets but glosses over unit economics. Scalability hinges on robot kiosks (low cap-ex) vs. flagship stores (high rent).
IP pipeline pressure: Bloomberg hints that Pop Mart must “keep innovating.” Expect faster character refresh cycles and more co-branded drops (Disney Stitch, Snoopy, etc.) to hedge Labubu fatigue.
What to watch
Tariff escalation votes in Congress (June-July) — any carve-outs for toys?
Q1-2025 earnings (late May): look for overseas revenue mix; Citi forecast ≈ 50 % outside China.
Next flagship IP reveal at Beijing Toy Fair (May 9-12). A hit there would validate the “post-Labubu” thesis.
U.S. price creep: Will new blind-boxes break the informal US$20 ceiling?
