The Labubu fad might be cooling, but it’s not dead yet and Apple could give that new life.
Yet the weird, lovable plushies from Pop Mart, which strike a creepy charm note with Gen Z and got an unlikely boost this week from Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook. The speculation flared up after his visit to the Pop Mart store in Shanghai, which caused the company’s stock price to rise 6 percent on Tuesday amid rumors of a possible collaboration.
At the event it was noticed Cook met with Pop Mart CEO Wang Ning and Labubu creator Kasing Lung, prompting online speculation Apple could integrate the quirky little toys into its ecosystem. The opportunities are anything from Labubu Apple merchandise, to mobile games or, dare we dream (and do a rain dance), an animated series on Apple TV+.
“Apple may well be the right partner to maintain virality through content and software partnerships,” said Gadjo Sevilla, senior tech analyst at EMARKETER.
Pop Mart executives have made clear their ambition to make the company into the “Disney of designer toys.” COO Si De said last month that the brand’s intention in the long-term is to grow its characters in entertainment and gaming. Neither Apple nor Pop Mart responded to Newspapers’s request for comment.
The stock of Pop Mart has been on a roller coaster ride since Labubu toys became a sensation around the world. Over the last year, shares have surged 165 percent as the company’s “ugly-cute” critters earned it a cult following, particularly among young collectors and social media influencers. EMARKETER projects that Pop Mart will sell some $1 billion in Labubu figures this year, more than twice the $420 million it reported selling in 2024.
It doesn't help that knockoffs have proliferated as well. Fake “Lafufus” are doing brisk business in resale groups, though authentic Labubus would previously sell for up to thousands of dollars. One lifesize Labubu even sold for $170,000.
But the buzz has started to dissipate. Pop Mart shares fell 20 percent off their peak in August, while resale prices have cooled. Still, Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang said new product launches might help rekindle demand. “We anticipate new series of Labubu, Twinkle Twinkle and others of key IPs will contribute the revenue increase in 2H,” Zhang told Newspapers.
An Apple collaboration might also give Pop Mart a nudge, he said but it is too early to foresee a financial windfall.
For Apple, the partnership would make almost no sense from a revenue perspective and instead be about cultural play in China. While Tim Cook’s stop by the exhibition was part of a larger effort to market the iPhone Air, analysts say symbolism counts.
“A viral company like Pop Mart is the important bridge for Apple, especially in its Chinese market,” Sevilla said. “It demonstrates that the company knows what’s trending at the local level.”
Apple has depended for years both on China as a critical manufacturing hub and as a gargantuan consumer market. Teaming up with Pop Mart would further solidify its image as a brand in tune with Chinese pop culture which no other Western tech company has been able to crack.
However, should the collaboration never spring to life, Cook’s cameo at least fulfilled its purpose. It promoted Pop Mart, pacified investors, and reminded the world that Labubu’s trouble-making days are far from over.
As Sevilla said, “Never count out a strange little furry monster.
