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China's Pop Mart is borrowing from Disney's playbook to turn toothy monster Labubu's blockbuster sales into long-term success, Executive Director and co-COO Si De told Reuters in a rare interview.
Pop Mart has already done what many thought impossible - making Labubu the first Chinese product to win a global audience for its emotional and creative appeal rather than because it represents value-for-money.
Now it aims to capitalise on the art toy's success.
"We have learned from Disney for a long time. In fact, Disney's great value lies in its ability to operate IP (intellectual property) over the long-term, even up to 100 years," Si said, pointing to the example of Mickey Mouse, created as a cartoon nearly a century ago.
Even as analysts question Pop Mart's reliance on Labubu and the company's fate as the toy's popularity inevitably cools, the firm itself still sees plenty of potential to develop content, entertainment, theme parks and more merchandise around the character - as Disney does with its most popular IP.
Si did not give a timeline or estimate on investment during the first interview a top executive from the firm has done with foreign media since 2022.
He said Pop Mart's focus in the near-term was not to find the "next big hit" but to invest in "better products, finding better collaborations, developing content, theme parks, store displays" for Labubu, and the eventual goal was to have five to 10 IPs with similar long-term potential to Labubu.
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