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16 / Lifestyle




























                                                Blind boxes in a Pop Mart store.
                                                Blind bo x es in a P op Mart s t or e.

           “I am not obsessed with collecting  boxes is estimated to reach RMB ¥25  figures were given birth under the
        all figurines in one series, and I never  billion (US $3.8 billion) in 2025.   brushes of Hong Kong artists.
        buy limited editions at high prices in                                    Molly, a little girl with big acid blue
        second-hand markets,” she adds.          Behind the Popularity          eyes and pursing red lips, is the Midas
           On the Single’s Day shopping fes-   Pop  Mart’s  product  designs  cap-  touch for Pop Mart.
        tival in 2019, more than two million  ture consumers’ attention and make   Designed by Hong Kong artist
        blind boxes were sold on Tmall, with  them keep purchasing. “I bought my  Kenny Wong, Molly is the most popu-
        sales  of  RMB  ¥82.12  million  (US  first blind box because of its cute de-  lar toy figure, generating 27 per cent
        $12.6 million).                     sign,”  says  Katy  Dong  Wenjing,  who  of revenue in 2019.
           According to Report of Produce &  has just become a blind box toy col-  Apart from selling original blind
        Sale Demand And Investment Fore-    lector last summer.                 boxes, the toy company also collabo-
        cast On China Toy Industry (2021-      The leading blind box company  rates with a variety of brands such as
        2026) conducted by Qianzhan Intel-  cooperates with many Hong Kong  Naruto, Pokémon and Harry Potter.
        ligence, a Shenzhen-based business  artists to create popular figures. Molly,   Dong’s favourite blind box toy is a
        consultancy, the market for blind  Pucky, Labubu and many sought-after  palm-sized figurine of Rapunzel from



























                          Dong ’ s fiv e t o y s in the Disney princ ess series. (Pho t o c ourt esy of Dong W enjing)
                          Dong’s five toys in the Disney princess series. (Photo courtesy of Dong Wenjing)
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