Boo Hoo for Labubu? Pop Mart Shares Slide Due to Declining Interest for Its Dolls

Ladies and Gentlemen, we may be witnessing the end of the Labubu doll craze going into 2026 as Hong Kong-listed retailer Pop Mart, the titan behind these ultra-popular collectible blind boxes, is seeing a market downslide due to a suspected declining interest in their Labubu dolls.

According to data from the Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia Pacific Index, Pop Mart International Group Ltd. fell the most in three weeks to as much as 6.2 percent on December 30, Tuesday, after dissipating reseller demand for the Labubu toys consequently dampened investor sentiment.

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You don't have to look far with collectible resale platforms such as Qiandao reflected a dip in average prices of full sets of mini Labubus below official retail levels. These viral collectible dolls were largely responsible for Pop Mart's recent market success this year, but are seeing softening prices due to holiday season sales that were fewer than what the brand expected. This has raised questions if the whole craze over blind boxes and Labubus has overstayed its welcome.

Based on recent MSCI data, Pop Mart shares are still on an upswing of about more than double from last year and is valued about four times more than fellow collectible company Sanrio Co. The Chinese retailer in August saw a slump that saw a drop in shares by about 44 percent and pull down its market value by about $25 billion. Pop Mart more than doubled its revenues in one year to $1.8 billion, with its founder attaining multi-billionaire status.

The Financial Times earlier said that Pop Mart's target demographic is surprisingly affluent teenagers and young adults who tend to show willingness to get into the blind box collecting sphere. In the past year, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary to see Labubu dolls go for exponentially and astronomically ludicrous resale prices, much like coveted watches and sneakers.

The Labubu creatures were created by Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung, who said they were part of his series of picture books called "The Monsters" influenced by Nordic folklore from his childhood. Founder Wang Ning and his family is currently worth about $22 billion, according to Forbes Magazine. Pop Mart, however, has a plethora of other trademarked characters to lean on and push in the coming year, with the firm keen on doubling its reach in the US. The firm has 37 staffed stores in the U.S., and 52 "roboshops" or vending machines.

The Philippines is host to two Pop Mart pop-up stores in SM Mall of Asia and another in SM Makati, with more stores to be set up in the pipeline.

The meteoric rise of the Labubu creatures and their overall permeation into pop culture and even into fashion fads may be losing steam as we end 2025, but we are likely to see more zany collectible and marketable characters take their place in the coming year as overconsumption's latest champion.

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