Chinanews client, Beijing, September 13th (Zuo Yukun) Many stars in the entertainment circle have begun to "show babies", and they are all showing the same "baby".

　　Recently, Song Qian, Song Zuer, Yang Chaoyue, Wang Feifei and many other female stars have taken photos with themselves and the "baby". It is a little girl with big eyes, pouting her mouth proudly and expressionless. .

　　The little girl's name is Molly, and she is the leading IP known as the "Sister Bubble Mart".

Can "Yijie" lead the ridiculed "IPO is the peak" Bubble Mart to the next story?

The MEGA collection series SPACE MOLLY watermelon launched by Bubble Mart.

Screenshot from the WeChat public account of Bubble Mart POPMART

The grown-up "Sister Bubble Mart"

　　On January 9, 2016, Wang Ning, Chairman and CEO of Bubble Mart, posted a Weibo: "In addition to collecting Sonny Angel (the most popular doll at the time), what else do you like collecting?"

　　Under that Weibo, many netizens proposed a name that Wang Ning had never heard of: Molly.

He quickly signed the IP, and Molly did not disappoint: From 2017 to 2019, the sales of Bubble Mart brand products based on Molly's image accounted for approximately 89.4% and 62.9% of the total revenue from Bubble Mart brand products. , 32.9%.

　　The business of Bubble Mart is getting bigger and bigger, and Molly "grows bigger and bigger": At first, based on the blind box strategy of Bubble Mart, Molly was mostly hidden in a small blind box with an image about 7cm high.

Nowadays, more and more 400% and 1000% size Molly appear in the definite image of 32cm and 70cm, which is the "big baby" sought after by many celebrities.

　　Shidun'er (a pseudonym), a trendy player, is a big baby lover.

The MEGA collection series "Molly Watermelon 1000%" that female stars have shown one after another, he owns the No.1 one.

Shidun'er's "Molly Watermelon" 0001/2500 certificate.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　Shidun'er bought this doll with an original price of 3999 yuan from a scalper for 11,000 yuan.

"I can accept this premium. After all, the premiums for trendy games like Bearbrick are higher."

　　Bearbrick, also known as the building block bear in Shidun'er's mouth, has long been speculated so that its value has soared, and the price of tens of thousands of dollars per piece is not uncommon.

Nowadays, many people think that the popularity of Bubble Mart in the market is "very like a building block bear."

　　At present, the “Molly watermelon 1000%” sells for around 15,000 yuan in the second-hand market, but this is not the “ceiling” of the big baby.

　　The opportunity for Shidun'er to "enter" Bubble Mart was its "Molly Earth Daughter" launched in June. At that time, the popularity was very high and the premium was very serious.

This original bubble Mart baby, originally priced at 4,999 yuan, has even been fired to the sky-high prices of 89,999 yuan, 98,888 yuan in the second-hand market.

The selling price of "Molly Earth Daughter" on the second-hand market.

　　"The price has more than doubled in less than a month. At that time, I thought it was a very high-return investment. For me, it was both a hobby and financial management. Why not?" Shi Dun'er said.

The shadow of "scalpers" that can't escape

　　Blind box lover Ling Li (pseudonym) also owns a big baby, "When I got out of the big baby, I called my relatives and friends to draw lots together, and the result was only this time. The baby is sold out before the interface is clear."

　　"There is a saying in our baby circle:'Bubble Mart can't make my money, but the scalpers can.'" Ling Li said, baby friends can't get their beloved baby, so they can only go to the second-hand market to buy it at a high price. Entering, complaining endlessly.

　　"Now this circle is basically monopolized by scalpers. I heard that they have software that is easy to grab. Our individual players are basically out of luck. Individual buyers who have won the lottery come to the store to mention it, and if they are too lazy to take it home, they directly doubled it on the spot. Selling to scalpers, there is no problem with scalpers changing hands and earning a few thousand dollars." Shidun'er said.

Part of Shidun'er's Molly collection.

Photo courtesy of the interviewee

　　Ling Li also said that the reason why the scalpers are profitable is that most of the big baby purchases are like AJ and other shoes. They need to be eligible to purchase through the lottery, not everyone can buy; the second is that the "limited" is added, and the global XXX body is in short supply. Lead to soaring prices.

　　However, with regard to the issue of its eldest baby being exploded, Bubble Mart replied to the media that Pao Mart did not participate in the past and will not participate in related transactions in the tide play second-hand market in the future.

I hope that it can be owned by real players and collectors, instead of going to the scalpers for a sky-high price, so that real enthusiasts will be discouraged and working hard to explore better solutions.

Blind box label eager to tear off

　　Although the rampant scalpers make Bubble Mart a "headache", the importance of the big baby to Bubble Mart is beyond doubt.

　　In the 2021 semi-annual report, Bubble Mart deliberately took out MEGA separately and stated, "The MEGA Collection Space Molly×SpongeBob SquarePants joint model released in June quickly detonated the market. 1,000% of them were sold in a limited edition of 3000. , It was purchased in the form of lottery, which attracted more than 1 million people."

　　"The popularity has exceeded expectations. The MEGA series will be the key IP of the follow-up Bubble Mart." Wang Ning expressed his satisfaction with Dawa's performance at the semi-annual report performance meeting.

Consumers choose Molly blind boxes at Pao Mart stores.

Photo by Zuo Yukun, China News Service

　　However, some people believe that behind the launch of the big baby also reflects the anxiety of Bubble Mart.

　　In 2018 and 2019, Bubble Mart's revenue increased by 225.49% and 227.19% year-on-year, respectively. However, the growth rate in 2020 has fallen precipitously, dropping by nearly 80% to 49.3%.

Now, although it has gradually recovered from the impact of the epidemic in the first half of 2021, its growth rate is only 116.8%.

　　Reflected in the stock price, the market value of Bubble Mart was as high as nearly 150 billion Hong Kong dollars.

　　In addition, the shadow of negative news such as lax quality control, poor after-sales, overlord clauses, marketing chaos, etc. has been hanging over Bubble Mart.

Recently, some consumers reported using the WeChat applet to draw Bubble Mart blind boxes, choosing 99 yuan to draw once, but when paying, they jumped directly to the full package and paid 2178 yuan, which once again raised doubts about inducing consumption.

　　"Whether IP can become popular still needs a carrier, otherwise it is just a doll or an enlarged version of the doll. To maintain continuous popularity, long-term innovation and content output on IP are also required." Good to say.

　　"Before and after the listing of Bubble Mart, we repeatedly explained to people that Pao Mart is not a blind box company, but an IP-based fashion company." Wang Ning has also repeatedly emphasized.

　　From the launch of Bubble Mart’s first concept store in Universal Studios Beijing, to the investment in the movie "White Snake 2: Green Snake Rise" and "New God List: Nezha Rebirth", to the establishment of Paradise Management Co., Ltd., it is not difficult to see Bubble Mart has decided to tear off the blind box label.

　　Are you still buying blind boxes?

(over)