LABUBU is more than just emotional economics!

POP MART founder Wang Ning was made the new richest man in Henan, China, and then it was sold at a sky-high price of 1.08 million yuan. LABUBU, this little monster, is making the impossible possible.

What made LABUBU successful was first of all a group of "different" consumers.

Wang Ning himself once said that POP MART's consumers are a group of young people. The explosive purchase of LABUBU reflects their consumerist characteristics vividly.

Every generation has its own social currency and its own consumption proposition.

The young people of Generation Z are eager for a sense of belonging, experience happiness, and are willing to participate in popular cultural phenomena. The consumerism they believe in is to use commodities to soothe emotions. In their value triangle, functional value is weakened, emotional value is maximized, and asset value cannot be let go.

People who buy LABUBU may have different incomes and personalities, but they are essentially the same. What impresses them more is emotional consumption. They are willing to spend more money and time to express their emotions.

It is these "useless" things that constitute unexpected "usefulness". Buyers gain an inexpensive sense of self-satisfaction, a strong sense of social presence, and experience a sense of joy that comes easily.

In the face of increasing pressure in modern life, sometimes an emotional consumption is like the last bastion to preserve the mentality.

These seemingly useless consumptions have alienated the traditional cost-effectiveness. Above the basic needs of life and below the consumption of luxury goods, they satisfy the young people of Generation Z and fulfill the myth of POP MART.

Spending money cannot write off the emotional solution. Consumers' emotional projections will also be manipulated by merchants and become premium conditions.

Premium means greater trading space. Global buyers spend a lot of money on LABUBU, which naturally attracts young people who want to get rich from it. Although not everyone can win, everyone wants to rush in.

A LABUBU microcosm has taken shape. It can be posted, speculated, and collected, and eventually becomes a functional container of emotional value.

These people, with the fantasy of wealth, use LABUBU and everything related to it to build a micro-speculative market driven by emotions and metaphysics.

Just like a flower will wither, but it will never "smile". Emotional consumption is bound to have a shelf life and will also face consumers' fickleness. What can resist all variables is the idealism, realism, and long-termism behind an IP.

Creating IP is not only the starting point for POP MART to become popular, but also the highlight of Chinese companies' "going overseas".

From the earliest "going overseas" small commodities 3C digital products to today's "new three things", from e-commerce platforms to electronic games, and then to the current trendy IP, more and more Chinese brands have the ability to dominate the world, including but not limited to manufacturing capabilities, as well as creative capabilities and incubation capabilities.

Therefore, what made LABUBU successful was not only the emotional consumption under the trend of the times. To truly turn plastic toys into top IPs, there must be long-term industrial accumulation, cultural confidence, and market recognition under globalization.

The success of LABUBU is worth summarizing. As for how long this IP can be popular and whether its experience can be replicated, there are still many blanks in the story, which need more POP MARTs to experience, supplement, and realize.