Introduction
Introduction Statistics Contact Development Disclaimer Help
.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
People love their fake Labubus. Can Pop Mart keep up?
By Ramishah Maruf, CNN
Updated:
1:00 PM EDT, Sun August 24, 2025
Source: CNN
Like many Labubu fans, 28-year-old Joselyn Chamorro is over the craze.
Waiting in overnight lines to buy the $30 mischievous dolls, or
shelling out $100 to resellers, has lost its appeal. So when she saw a
gas station in Lakeland, Florida, was selling fake Labubus — known as
Lafufus — for $20, she didn’t hesitate to buy one.
Trying to get a real Labubu, “it’s almost like ‘The Hunger
Games,’” Chamorro said.
Just like an authentic Labubu, it even came in a blind box, meaning the
buyer doesn’t know the specific doll they’re getting.
Labubu’s maker, Pop Mart, seems unstoppable. The Beijing-based toy
company expects its 2025 revenue to exceed 30 billion yuan, or $4.2
billion. Just in the Americas, revenue soared by over 1,000%
year-on-year, according to Pop Mart’s semi-annual report released in
August. Globally, revenue for Labubus alone skyrocketed 668% in the
first half of the year.
But as rapidly as Labubus have risen in popularity, they could fall
just as fast. Shortages of the creepy-cute dolls, on top of the $20 to
$40 price tag, have driven shoppers to look for alternatives.
Pop Mart’s strength lies in its creations that draw a cult following
– Labubus, Cry Babies and Molly figurines – but the company still
needs to grow past virality, Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang said.
“Compared with global leaders such as Disney and Sanrio, Pop Mart has
yet to demonstrate a sufficiently long track record of generating
excess return on invested capital from self-owned IPs,” Zhang wrote
last week.
And in a twist, Lafufu owners aren’t afraid to share they have a
knock-off.
Chamorro’s fake is smaller than the real Labubus, and its hands and
face may be two different shades. But the palm-sized toy bears holds
the same mischievous grin and soft fur that made the original go
mind-bogglingly viral.
“My little monster, even though he’s not authentic, he’s still
really cute in his own little way,” Chamorro said.
Pop Mart isn’t playing around
Pop Mart has trademarked “Labubu” since 2019 in the United States
and at least 2016 internationally, according to the company’s legal
filings. And China is cracking down on Lafufus, with its customs agents
.
There’s a certain irony in China’s possessiveness over its Labubu
IP. The country is known for pushing out fakes of practically every
well-known brand, accounting for 45% of all reported seizures of
counterfeit goods in 2021, to the Organisation for Economic
Co-operation and Development. It also doesn’t rank too highly in the
, which measures the strength of intellectual property among different
nations.
Pop Mart Americas recently sued a group of 7-Eleven stores in
California for selling counterfeit Labubus. Zhang said more companies
may face lawsuits from Pop Mart over Lafufus, but counterfeits might
also decrease as Pop Mart ramps up its production.
A consumer standards body in the United Kingdom fake Labubu dolls
could pose a choking hazard for young children. The US Consumer Product
Safety Commission, which a similar warning, noted a real Labubu will
feature a holographic Pop Mart sticker, a scannable QR code linking to
the official Pop Mart site and exactly nine teeth; newer Labubus will
also have “a subtle UV stamp on one foot.”
What’s driving demand for Labubus?
These days, you may see more Lafufus on the streets than Labubus,
especially as social media has destigmatized the shame of owning
knock-off toys.
Lafufus are “a lot more unique looking, you know, the little mess ups
and the little quirks … people like that,” Cassandra Harrison, a
32-year-old from New Jersey, told CNN.
Many of her friends are starting Lafufu collections, and she recently
found a wall of Lafufus at a phone repair store inside her local Super
Walmart. But at the end of the day, Harrison still ended up purchasing
a real Labubu.
Turning Labubu, originally a storybook character, into a beloved plush
wasn’t exactly dumb luck, said Mark Tanner, managing director of
consumer insights newsletter China Skinny. More and more Chinese
companies are outpacing their Western competitors with rapid-fire
product development, he told CNN.
Pop Mart did a lot of work behind the scenes to make the “blind
box” approach work. Like most consumer trends today, the blind boxes
appeal to shoppers who are scrolling through hyper-specific TikTok
algorithms.
“(Pop Mart’s strategy) just aligns really well with the way people
are consuming information right now, where the algorithm does all the
work for them. When you buy a Labubu, you’re not having to make any
choices,” Tanner said.
Pop Mart also doesn’t have the decades-long history as some of its
Western competitors. So the company isn’t as concerned about
retaining loyal customers — it’s still busy building its base.
Pop Mart has opened at least 50 stores in 2025 around the world,
Morningstar said. Morningstar analysts estimate that business outside
China will account for 70% of Pop Mart’s revenue in 2034, compared
to 39% in 2024.
And regarding fake Labubus, Pop Mart still has a few tricks up its
sleeves to keep the spotlight on the real thing.
Last week, Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning announced an even tinier version of
the character, similar to the popular figurines that hang off
many-a-Gen Z’ers devices. Wang said mini Labubus could be launched as
soon as this week, a rapid turnaround time, say.
Upon the news of the very tiny toy, Pop Mart’s stock climbed 14%,
hitting levels as high as December 2020, when the company first went
public.
For some, Labubus are so overdone
Madonna recently unveiled a slightly “Madudu” birthday cake to ring
in her 67th birthday. Labubu costumes have been spotted on event dance
floors. And why does a seem to exist?
But what’s novel is the sheer ridiculousness of the Lafufus. Some
have faces that are plastered on sideways. Others have foreheads that
are definitely not proportional to its tiny body. All these
imperfections play to the delight of social media users.
Chamorro, the woman in Florida, also owns a Labubu. But she said her
funky Lafufu has grown on her. The fact that she was able to purchase
it from a local gas station makes it all the better.
So, at least for now, Chamorro is not bothering with the official Pop
Mart drops.
“I don’t know if in a year from now, they’re still going to be as
big,” she said. “I feel like this is more of a trend and lowkey, I
don’t think I’m going to get another. They’re just so hard to
get.”
<- back to index
You are viewing proxied material from codevoid.de. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.