Chinese toymaker Pop Mart’s Labubu monster dolls have become a global craze. They bare their teeth from the handbags of Rihanna and Dua Lipa and have driven fans to break-ins and brawls as shoppers scramble to get hold of them – breaking new ground for Chinese pop culture.
In 2022, the Financial Times asked Camille Gaujacq, a specialist in Chinese market research, whether the Beijing-based company Pop Mart, which had recently set up shop in London, could meet its goal of making more than 50 percent of its revenue abroad within five years.
Gaujacq was cautious, saying it was hard to know “to what extent a growth model based on stimulating a consumer trend” would work in the West.
Three years on, customers around the world are queuing overnight – and in some cases coming to blows – to buy a Pop Mart-exclusive product: the Labubu.
These half-cute, half-sinister monsters with pointed teeth and bunny ears were created by Hong Kong designer Kasing Lung and inspired by Norwegian folklore. Sold as plush toys, bag charms and figurines, they have become a global hit – along with the chaos that surrounds them.
UK retailer suspends Labubu toy sales amid safety fears
In Singapore late last year, CCTV footage showed a family stealing Labubu dolls from a vending machine, according to online media outlet AsiaOne, while The Sun newspaper reported that in California a car was broken into and three Labubu toys that had been on display taken.
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