Labubu's Success

LABUBU is famous now (thanks to Pop Mart), but do you know the man who survived three major setbacks to bring it to life?

You’ve probably heard of LABUBU, but you might not know Wang Ning.

He’s the founder of Pop Mart, the company that turned blind box collectibles into a cultural phenomenon — where young people willingly spend hundreds just to pull a rare figurine from a box.

But the road to success wasn’t cute or collectible. It was messy, lonely, and full of near-collapse moments.

⚠️ Crisis #1: No one understood what he was selling

In 2009, Wang had just graduated from college. Instead of choosing a stable job, he took the ¥200,000 he’d earned from running a tiny rental shelf shop on campus and moved to Beijing to start a business.

By 2010, he opened the first Pop Mart store in an unremarkable corner of Zhongguancun.

His shop sold “cute but seemingly useless” lifestyle goods — inspired by Japanese LOFT and Hong Kong’s LOG-ON.

But no one got it.

Shopping malls didn’t want him. Customers didn’t understand the products. Even his own staff quit after opening day, confused about what the brand even stood for.

So he did everything himself — stocking, manning the register, running the store. Alone.

💸 Crisis #2: Burned through cash and nearly gave up

By the end of 2011, the company was bleeding money. Its brand had no clear identity. Cash flow was dangerously low. Wang seriously considered shutting down, franchising the brand out, or giving up entirely.

Then, on August 10, 2012, came a lifeline.

Angel investor Mai Gang believed in him and invested ¥2 million — Pop Mart’s first external funding.

That moment didn’t just save the business. It revived Wang’s belief in himself.

“Someone finally understood what I was trying to do.”

🧸 Crisis #3: Best-selling product vanished overnight

With a distribution deal for the popular Sonny Angel figurines from Japan, Pop Mart briefly took off. Stores were packed. The brand finally had traction.

But in early 2016, disaster struck — the Sonny Angel license was abruptly terminated.

Just like that, Pop Mart lost 30% of its revenue. Panic spread across the company.

No stable intellectual property. No standout product. Just a vague image of “cute stuff.”

That’s when Wang noticed a buzz online: fans were asking for a character called Molly.

He reached out to Hong Kong designer Kenny Wong, secured the license, and launched the Molly Zodiac Blind Box Series.

It sold out in 4 seconds on Tmall.

That moment changed everything. Pop Mart had finally discovered its winning formula.

🎯 Wang Ning’s secret wasn’t blind boxes

Some think Pop Mart’s success was just lucky timing — catching the blind box trend. But it was something deeper:

1. Fast trial-and-error with low-cost iteration

2. Letting users decide — not executives

Wang turned Pop Mart into more than just a seller of toys. He built an ecosystem:

• Original IPs

• Vending machines

• Online blind box platforms

• Fan communities

• Toy conventions

He wasn’t just selling figurines. He was shaping youth culture.

🏙 From a basement shop to one of China’s youngest billionaires

In 2020, Pop Mart went public in Hong Kong. Its market cap soared past HKD 100 billion. Wang Ning entered China’s top 10 youngest rich list.

From a store that couldn’t even keep staff, to becoming the visionary that global designers now compete to collaborate with — and that fans line up overnight for.

🔥 Real entrepreneurs never quit

We often see people standing in the spotlight and forget how many silent nights they spent doubting themselves — almost giving up.

Wang Ning had no rich family, no connections. He almost shut the doors more than once.

But he held onto one belief:

If the world isn’t applauding you yet, let your product do the talking.

And that belief?

That resilience?

That’s what built the real value of Pop Mart.

Credit for visual: The Brain Maze

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