Pop Mart U.S. sales fall 45 percent as Labubu dominates growth
Pop Mart’s U.S. sales flipped from +130% in January to -45% in March, even as Labubu still powered the brand’s biggest moves.
Pop Mart’s U.S. sales went from a 130% surge in January to a 41% gain in February, then dropped 45% year over year in March, a sharp reversal that landed straight in the middle of Labubu season. The move, measured by Bloomberg Second Measure through card spending, looked less like online chatter fading and more like real collectors pulling back at the register.
For Labubu buyers, that matters because the March slide does not read like a broad collapse. It reads like a market that is still unusually dependent on one character. Pop Mart has been trying to push beyond Labubu, but the monster plush line remains the brand’s flagship, and the U.S. assortment still leans heavily on THE MONSTERS, the series Pop Mart says was inspired by Nordic myths and created by Kasing Lung in 2015.
That concentration is what makes the latest U.S. sales data so useful to collectors deciding whether to buy now or wait. If demand is cooling, Pop Mart may have to keep shelves fuller, pace drops more carefully, and lean harder on collaborations that already have built-in recognition. Its U.S. site already lists Labubu-linked partnerships such as THE MONSTERS × FIFA and THE MONSTERS × Hello Kitty and Friends, a sign that the company is still using familiar names to keep the American market moving.
At the same time, Pop Mart’s larger business was still running hot. The company said 2025 revenue rose 184.7% to 37.12 billion yuan, its strongest year yet and a milestone tied to its 15th anniversary. Reuters reported that the company also expanded manufacturing capacity in Mexico, Cambodia and Indonesia to support demand and strengthen supply-chain resilience. Those moves suggest Pop Mart is preparing for a larger global footprint even as the U.S. sales mix looks more fragile.
The broader expansion helps explain why March matters. In first-half 2025 reporting, Pop Mart said Americas revenue reached 2.26 billion yuan, while the region’s store count climbed from 10 to 41 locations by midyear. A market note put worldwide retail outlets at 571, with overseas revenue accounting for 40.3% of total sales. In other words, the U.S. is no side quest for Labubu. It is a test of whether Pop Mart can turn one breakout character into a durable collectibles empire.
For collectors, the read is mixed but actionable. Labubu-linked drops still look like the safest bet to move first, especially the collaborations that tie into bigger fandoms. But if March marks the start of a wider reset, secondary-market prices may soften and in-stock odds may improve for everything outside the most chased releases.
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