Chinese trendy toy Labubu sold out immediately in 618 livestreaming on e-commerce platform: company

A visitor passes by a Labubu statue during an organized tour on June 3, 2025 in Popland, a theme park opened by Chinese toy company PopMart in Beijing. Photo: VCG

A special 618 (June 18) livestream for Chinese brand Pop Mart by AliExpress, Chinese e-commerce Alibaba’s online global retail platform, drew a significant audience from various countries and regions. As soon as links for more than 10 popular items, including Labubu and other trending intellectual properties, were released, they sold out almost immediately, according to AliExpress.

 This is the first global livestreaming event for Pop Mart featuring internet celebrities promoting products, according to AliExpress. The company invited Teala Dunn to host the event.

The trend is gaining traction both online and offline across major global markets. Chinese trendy toy stores have secured prime locations in cities like Paris and London, where overseas fans line up for hours to buy the most coveted items, according to media reports. 

On Wednesday night, Pop Mart launched the first global online pre-sale of Labubu 3.0—the third-generation vinyl plush toy in the “Big into Energy” series, triggering a strong market response, the Economic Observer Online (EOO) reported. 

Official data shows that sales on Pop Mart’s JD flagship store exceeded 300,000 units, while sales on its Tmall flagship store surpassed 700,000 units. The total expected restock across all channels is around 4 to 5 million units. With a unit price of 99 yuan ($13.78), the projected sales revenue is expected to exceed 500 million yuan,  according to the EOO report.

The large-scale release of Labubu 3.0 has had a direct impact on the secondary market, with scalper buyback prices dropping sharply. According to the EOO report, the price of a full box (containing six blind boxes) fell from 1,500–2,800 yuan before the presale to 650–800 yuan.

Earlier, a mint-color Labubu doll with a height of 131 centimeters, was sold for 1.08 million yuan at an auction in Beijing through Yongle Auction.

Wang Peng, an associate research fellow at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Thursday that Labubu’s rise to international fame can be attributed to factors including its distinctive IP image, blind box sales model, social and celebrity influence, and localized design adaptations.

Built on an “ugly-cute” aesthetic, Labubu breaks traditional beauty norms and resonates with young people’s pursuit of individuality and rejection of conventional definitions, thus fostering emotional connections, Wang said.

Meanwhile, cross-border e-commerce platforms have expanded access to the brand, while Pop Mart’s globalization strategy has established an overseas marketing system through direct IP product sales via self-operated stores and self-service kiosks, said Wang.

Global Times