From the peak price of 107 Hong Kong dollars, all the way down to less than 20 Hong Kong dollars, Bubble Mart's life in the capital market is not easy.

After evaporating hundreds of billions of Hong Kong dollars in market value, does Molly, who is pouting and black-faced, still have magical powers?

This is a question thrown by the capital market, and it is also a question thrown by the trendy play market.

　　"We are all content companies that produce emotional value." Qipa said that the founder Ma Dong once made this comment on the popular blind box.

When the market value of over 100 billion Hong Kong dollars fell to 26 billion Hong Kong dollars, the emotional value of Bubble Mart was "ineffective".

It is already difficult for Molly to bear the emotional value of the original group of hardcore fans, but the new fans seem to have more choices.

seven years roller coaster

　　Perhaps Bubble Mart did not expect that when he entered the trendy game field, he would quickly climb to the top and fall quickly in just seven years.

As of the close on March 10, the market value of Bubble Mart fell to 25.98 billion Hong Kong dollars. It has evaporated hundreds of billions of dollars from the peak period of 150 billion Hong Kong dollars after listing. The stock price has also dropped from 107 Hong Kong dollars at the peak to 19 Hong Kong dollars today.

For any business, this is unspeakable pain.

　　In 2010, Wang Ning founded Bubble Mart with enthusiasm. Starting from selling stationery and small accessories, despite opening dozens of stores, Bubble Mart’s profit is not high, and its performance has been losing money for three consecutive years.

Until 2015, the popularity of blind boxes in Japan made Bubble Mart see an opportunity.

　　In 2015, the Japanese blind box market was very popular and popular with consumers. Bubble Mart changed its thinking and entered the trendy play market.

In 2016, perhaps because of God’s favor, or because of Wang Ning’s unique vision, Bubble Mart signed the copyright of Molly’s exclusive IP, and started the operation of Molly for many years.

　　Since then, Bubble Mart has skyrocketed.

In June 2016, the Molly series of blind boxes was officially launched on the Tmall flagship store and sold out within seconds.

For a long time since then, Molly has staged countless shows that have been put on the shelves and sold out.

　　In the financial report data, Molly has also become the most profitable "head star" of Bubble Mart.

In 2017, Molly brought 89.4% of all IP revenues to Pao Mart; with the successful operation of this IP, Pao Mart, which had been losing money for many years, turned losses into profits.

In 2018, Molly's revenue accounted for 62.9%.

　　With the help of Molly's popularity, Bubble Mart's performance has doubled.

According to financial report data, from 2018 to 2019, Bubble Mart’s revenue increased by 225.49% and 227.19% respectively, and its net profit increased by 6242.96% and 353.29% respectively.

　　Ma Dong commented on this popular blind box economy in the trendy toy industry forum: "We are all content companies that produce emotional value, but the carriers are different."

　　The blind box carried the emotional value of many young consumer groups at that time. Even though outsiders clamored that they could not understand and were worthless, in the eyes of those who entered the circle, the small blind box carried emotions such as individuality, coolness, and niche.

The emotional value brought by this blind box once made Molly of Bubble Mart priceless.

　　Xiaoying was the first batch of fans of Bubble Mart at that time, and also a hardcore fan of Molly.

She knows every single one of Molly's Blind Box collections.

According to Xiaoying, with just one IP of Molly, Bubble Mart has launched more than 30 different series of blind boxes. It is Xiaoying's goal to collect all Molly blind box series.

When asked why she likes Molly, Xiaoying gave the answer that this pouting girl is another herself.

In Xiaoying's words, this is an attitude towards life, an attitude against numb life.

　　With the help of the popularity of "Splashing Sky", at the end of 2020, Bubble Mart knocked on the door of the capital market and became "China's first trendy play stock", with a market value exceeding 100 billion Hong Kong dollars.

Then at the beginning of 2021, Bubble Mart's stock price once rose to HK$107, with a market value of nearly HK$150 billion.

At this time, Bubble Mart is full of scenery.

　　The boom in trendy games triggered by Bubble Mart is overwhelming, sweeping the entire Chinese trendy game market.

According to the data from Tianyancha, there are more than 1,200 companies in my country whose names or business scope include "trendy toys, trendy toys, and blind boxes".

More than 80% of trendy play-related companies (all business statuses) were established within five years.

Among them, in 2020, more than 400 fashion-related companies will be added, a year-on-year increase of 54%.

hot play

　　It's a pity that the overwhelming gaming craze didn't last too long.

In January 2022, the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau issued the "Shanghai Blind Box Operation Compliance Guidelines", which put forward specific measures to regulate the blind box market.

Before "March 15" in 2022, the blind box was named by CCTV due to the problem of falsely high quality and price difference.

　　All of a sudden, the hot blind box economy took a turn for the worse, and Bubble Mart also embarked on the road of de-blind box development.

Wang Ning has repeatedly emphasized in public: "Pop Mart is not a blind box company, but a trendy toy brand." Starting in 2021, Bubble Mart will no longer list the revenue of blind boxes separately in its financial report. out.

　　On the one hand, there is the spontaneous de-blind boxing from Bubble Mart, and on the other hand, the dilemma of having no successor IP after Molly, Bubble Mart has a hard time to say.

　　Molly's popularity has been declining year by year, according to earnings data.

From 2017 to 2020, Molly's revenue accounted for 89.4%, 62.9%, 32.9% and 14.2% respectively.

In order to reduce the dependence on Molly's single IP, Bubble Mart has continuously launched new IPs.

For example, launch The Monsters, PUCKY, etc., but it is difficult to compare with Molly, and it is difficult to replicate Molly's popularity.

　　According to financial report data, the proportion of revenue from exclusive and non-exclusive IPs such as The Monsters and PUCKY has declined in 2021, and exclusive IPs as a whole have dropped from 28.3% in 2020 to 17.2%.

PUCKY, one of the two earliest IPs, has seen its revenue share drop from 11.9% in 2020 to 4.1%.

　　At the same time, PDC, a designer team established within Bubble Mart, launched IPs such as Sweet Bean, MINICO, and Gum Monster, which are still difficult to become the main support for performance.

　　While the heat receded, it was also accompanied by more and more doubts.

Negative questions about the high price, poor quality, difficulty in returning goods, and induced consumption of Bubble Mart blind boxes emerged one after another, which once made Bubble Mart stand at the forefront of public opinion.

All of a sudden, the market value, stock price and performance of Bubble Mart fell one after another.

In the first half of 2022, Bubble Mart’s performance fell for the first time, and its net profit fell by 7.23%.

It took less than two years for Bubble Mart to fall from the altar.

　　Xiaoying is no longer obsessed with collecting the Molly series.

"I am growing and changing, Molly has not changed, she can no longer represent me," Xiaoying said.

Until now, many blind boxes of Xiaoying are still for sale on Xianyu, and it is not known when they will be sold.

　　According to Wu Daiqi, CEO of Shenzhen Siqisheng Company, the current limitation of Bubble Mart is that its IP lacks long-term content output, and many IPs are difficult to become popularly accepted IPs.

　　"For trendy play companies, simply working hard on product technology is not the foundation of development. For trendy play companies like Bubble Mart, if they want to become bigger and stronger, they should make breakthroughs in IP operations. Therefore, Bubble Mart's The focus of development should be on how to operate IP," added Jiang Han, a senior researcher at Pangoal Institution.

　　Regarding market value, performance and other related issues, a reporter from Beijing Business Daily interviewed Bubble Mart, but no reply was received as of press time.

The market is difficult to copy

　　In the years when Bubble Mart became popular, Bubble Mart’s goal was to be China’s Disney. Later, Bubble Mart no longer emphasized being China’s Disney, but to be China’s Bubble Mart. Later, Bubble Mart seemed to want to be the Bubble Mart of the world.

This is understood to mean that when the trendy play economy peaks in the local market, Bubble Mart needs a new story to appear.

　　In the first half of 2022, Bubble Mart will separate its overseas business for the first time, and its focus will gradually shift overseas.

　　In fact, since 2018, Bubble Mart has successively deployed overseas markets, but in 2022, the pace of deployment will be accelerated.

This year, on the basis of continuing to deepen the Asian market, Bubble Mart focused on the layout of North America, Europe, and Oceania. It successively opened its first local offline stores in London, England, Auckland, New Zealand, Los Angeles, and Melbourne, Australia. Opened the first overseas flagship store in Seoul.

　　Up to now, Bubble Mart's international business has entered 25 countries and regions around the world, with more than 40 offline retail stores and more than 100 robot stores, and the proportion of offline channel revenue has increased significantly.

　　When Bubble Mart's existing IP can't stir up the domestic trendy game market again, no one can answer how many opportunities "going out" will bring to Bubble Mart, but Bubble Mart is full of confidence.

Wen Deyi, vice president of Bubble Mart and president of Bubble Mart International, once said, "In the next ten years, international business will be one of the most important development points of Bubble Mart."

　　While going to the world stage, Bubble Mart is also increasing the high-end market.

In June 2021, Bubble Mart will add a big baby business and launch 9 SPCEMOLLYMEGA series, focusing on the high-end market. , "Big baby" has been fired to more than 100,000 one.

However, in the subsequent development, the popularity of the SPCEMOLLYMEGA series receded, and the price on the second-hand market fell below 1,000 yuan.

And in February of this year, Bubble Mart launched the latest high-end line of products, "Superiority Burning". Although the popularity in the early stage is not small, it is still a derivative of Molly. With the decline of Molly's popularity year by year, how long can this series maintain its popularity? ?

　　In Jiang Han’s view, for the trendy play market, high-end products are more valuable for collection than low-priced products due to factors such as high prices and handicrafts, and are more likely to attract consumers with collection hobbies.

In comparison, the high-end market space will also be more focused, more vertical and more targeted, and can better reflect its collection value.

However, for the current Bubble Mart, it is better to focus on the IP operation level than to work hard on individual product processes.

　　Beijing Business Daily reporter Guo Xiujuan Zhang Junhua