Labubu tops 100 million sales, spotlighting China’s rising original IPs

Labubu’s 100 million-unit milestone is the clearest sign yet that Pop Mart’s most recognizable character has moved far beyond collector hype. Pop Mart said its flagship LABUBU doll series surpassed 100 million units sold worldwide in 2025, while total sales across all of its IP categories topped 400 million. For collectors, that scale changes the game fast: it usually means more official restocks, wider retail access, and a bigger counterfeit problem, while non-limited pieces face more pressure in resale.

Pop Mart founder Wang Ning disclosed the figures at the company’s annual meeting, where he also pointed to a business that now sells in more than 100 countries and regions, runs over 700 stores worldwide, and is supported by six major supply-chain bases. The company said its global workforce exceeded 10,000 in 2025 and its registered membership shops passed 100 million. After the disclosure, Pop Mart shares rose, and the company’s market capitalization was about HK$361.9 billion.

The number that still stands out most is how fast Labubu went from character art to a full-blown commercial engine. Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung created Labubu in 2015 for The Monsters picture-book series, and Pop Mart began releasing the character as a blind-box collectible in 2019. By 2024, THE MONSTERS franchise had already generated more than 3 billion yuan in revenue, a 726.6% jump from the previous year. That kind of growth helps explain why Labubu now sits at the center of Pop Mart’s global push.

The character’s reach is no longer confined to China’s collector circles. Xinhua described overnight queues in New York, long lines in Seoul, and shoppers posing with Labubu bags in Paris. The Diplomat added celebrity fans including David Beckham, Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Blackpink’s Lisa, and even members of the Thai royal family. A Fudan University researcher said the appeal comes from Labubu’s mix of mild rebellion and self-expression, which is exactly the sort of emotional shorthand that travels well across borders.

That is why the 100 million figure matters beyond bragging rights. It marks Labubu as a benchmark for China’s homegrown IPs and a symbol of the shift from made in China to created in China. The next things worth watching are the official restock rhythm, new store openings, and how aggressively Pop Mart keeps the collaboration machine moving. If the scale keeps expanding, Labubu may become easier to buy in more places, but harder to chase as a true collectible.