Riding on Nezha’s express train, the King of Blind Boxes is popular and miserable

Wen| Original Finance and Economics is also okay

“Nezha 2” has reputation and double kills by passers-by. In addition to its popularity, the system has broken more than 70 records in succession. It not only took away the core producer Guangguang Media and Chairman Wang Changtian, but also made his surroundings popular!

As a partner of “Nezha 2”, trendy entertainment giant Bubble Mart is really about to burst into laughter. The sales of “Nezha’s Devil Boy in the Sea” series of hand-made blind boxes exceeded 40,000, online and offline were all snatched up.

Because it was hard to find one, Bubble Mart ushered in an explosion, returning to a market value of hundreds of billions, and then quickly entered the fixed process of popularity: goods were in short supply and scalpers entered the market.

“Supply exceeds demand” has become a slap in the face in the excitement, which has caused consumers to question: Bubble Mart has caught the popularity of Nezha and the wealth of the sky, but has lost its reputation amid the uproar.

01 One is hard to find”

Having learned the lessons of “Nezha 1”, Bubble Mart obviously came prepared this time. The development took a year and a half, and chose to launch the product simultaneously with the release of the movie, using the enthusiasm for watching movies to ignite the urge to consume.

It is reported that the “Nezha: The Devil Boy Raises in the Sea” series of hand-made blind boxes are priced at 69 yuan per unit, and the entire box is 8, priced at 552 yuan. The film will be released online the day after its release, and offline on January 31 the next day. But whether online or offline, blind boxes are sold out in an instant.

Both Bubble Mart’s Tmall flagship store and official App show that the products have been sold out and are being replenished crazily.& rdquo; It is expected that re-shipment will not be completed until May 20, 2025.

On second-hand trading platforms, the prices of products surrounding “Nezha 2” have also risen. ldquo; The platform transaction price of the Tiansheng Feet series blind box full-box products (including 8 blind boxes) has risen to 1689 yuan. Many popular models in the blind box have obvious premiums. Among them, the combined price of Hand-in-Hand Nezha and Hand-in-Hand Aobing has risen to 200 yuan, and the hidden version of Aobing version of Nezha is as high as 388 yuan.

The price has tripled directly, which is much better than the Light stock. No kidding, the best financial product for young people is to buy surrounding areas!& rdquo;

▲ Photo source: Bubble Mart flagship store

At present, the online pre-sale and delivery date of this series of hand-made blind boxes has been scheduled until June 15. Offline stores are also in a supply crisis, and warehouse inventory has already reached the bottom.

“This pre-sale time is too long. By June, the popularity of the movie will be gone. Who cares about this neighborhood?” rdquo; While netizens complained on social platforms that they couldn’t buy it at all, they also criticized why Bubble Mart didn’t replenish it and whether it was engaging in hunger marketing.

The so-called hunger marketing technique is often seen in new consumption, that is, controlling output and creating the illusion of scarcity to stimulate consumers to buy, thereby achieving the purpose of raising prices and obtaining high profits.

Bubble Mart also has a criminal record. Previously, it was criticized by the China Consumers Association for using hunger marketing to stimulate consumption, resulting in food waste for jointly launching the DIMOO blind box set meal jointly with KFC.

Regarding the supply outage caused by the explosion of Nezha, Bubble Mart responded that we urgently adjusted the production plan and actively replenished the goods. rdquo;

Judging from Bubble Mart’s achievements in the past two years, it does not lack attention. Perhaps it really underestimates the popularity of “Nezha 2”.

02 Silver jewelry sold at gold price

Playing limited time, making hot spots, and bringing emotional value to the extreme, Bubble Mart has been jokingly called the plastic Moutai of young people by netizens.

Young people who are addicted to harvesting certainly cannot be limited to happy blind boxes worth tens of yuan. Bubble Mart is methodically expanding its category, targeting the jewelry world of adults.

In mid-January, Bubble Mart opened POPOP flash stores in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chengdu, a brand new jewelry brand created to light up the fun of life.

It is reported that POPOP has released a total of 5 series, including necklaces, rings, bracelets, pendants, etc., all of which incorporate Bubble Mart’s classic IP, such as Ono HIRONO and MOLLY. Once launched, it quickly attracted the attention and rush of a large number of trendy fans.

It is also a routine operation to create scarcity: limited sales from January 15 to February 14, and flash sales are sold out and there is no other channel to buy.

But from the perspective of the jewelry itself, POPOP’s jewelry products are quite similar to Pandora of Tears of the Times. They are mostly made of s925 silver, synthetic cubic zirconium, crystal and other materials.

▲ Photo source: POPOP official website

The price of a bare chain fluctuates between 100 and 599 depending on its thickness. The price of pendants and small beads is increased in an additional price. The combined price of a bracelet is basically four digits.

POPOP jewelry even uses beaded metaphysics. White shell beads symbolize good luck and good fortune, and red agate symbolizes enthusiasm and strength. A series of dreams come true made of pearls and S925 silver as the main materials. The slogan also says: Connect with natural stone with natural energy, reflecting beauty and expectation one by one.& rdquo;

Lingling, who is keen on collecting Ono blind boxes and surrounding areas, quickly opened her purse and put a silver necklace in her purse. It was easy to buy more than a thousand yuan to be happy.” rdquo;

But on social media, POPOP jewelry has also received a lot of complaints due to price issues. Reasonable consumers say that the material is too cheap. A bead sells for 699 yuan, a limited edition necklace costs 2699 yuan, and pure cut vermicelli leeks.& rdquo;

Some netizens revealed that I had previously interviewed Bubble Mart for a jewelry designer position, and the test given to me was to keep the cost within 100 yuan. rdquo;

▲ Photo source: Xiaohongshu

The profit margin of fashion silver jewelry is generally 80%-90%, and POPOP jewelry may be able to achieve higher.

In fact, this is not the first time Bubble Mart has made a strong effort in the jewelry field.

In May 2023, Bubble Mart and Chow Sang Sang launched a joint gold jewelry; in December 2024, they launched six themed gold pendants and Charme beaded series with the theme of Zhou Youqi Dream. The sales of related joint products are very popular and accumulated a certain reputation.

As for the price, Bubble Mart’s blind boxes and even jewelry cannot be measured simply by money. After all, the Empress Dowager Xi even sold fake pearls for 3000 yuan.

Xuan Yilang, design director of Bubble Mart and creator of Ono IP, said that the attributes of trendy toys are not just toys, but behind them are the emotional transmission of the designer. rdquo;

Wang Ning and Bubble Mart are not so much engaged in blind boxes and jewelry, but rather the emotion and companionship brought by IP, which is the emotional value.

03 World Bubble Mart

Bubble Mart has been established 14 years ago and is undoubtedly one of the most eye-catching new retail brands in China.

In 2010, the first Bubble Mart was established on the basement floor of Oumehui, Zhongguancun, Beijing, mainly selling cosmetics, stationery, toys, etc.; in 2016, Bubble Mart was authorized by MOLLY and embarked on the road of IP operations.

In 2019, Bubble Mart’s revenue reached 1.683 billion yuan, of which the blind box business brought revenue of 1.359 billion yuan, and the company’s net profit also reached 451 million yuan.

From 2020 to 2023, its gross profit margins will reach 63.42%, 61.43%, 57.49% and 61.32%, even much higher than the 50% of world-renowned gaming companies.

On December 11, 2020, Bubble Mart officially landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and became the first stock in the blind box. On the first day of listing, the company’s market value once exceeded HK$100 billion, but has since declined.

Wang Ning, the founder of Bubble Mart, is a post-85s generation who has successfully started his own business from scratch and is also the brightest rising star in the trendy entertainment industry. Before Bubble Mart went public, Wang Ning had a controlling stake in the company, with a shareholding ratio of 56.33%.

In the past year of 2024, Wang Ning led Bubble Mart’s overseas business to make great progress. Its share price soared by 340% during the year. It was called the most amazing consumption story in the secondary market this year by the media, and Bubble Mart also relied on it. Return to the market value of hundreds of billions.

In July of the same year, 37-year-old Wang Ning was selected on the Forbes China CEO list for the first time and appeared on the cover. The “2024 Hurun Report” showed that his personal wealth exceeded 27.5 billion yuan.

But the pursuit of wealth is not Wang Ning’s goal. He once publicly stated that in the past, we always said that we wanted to learn from Disney, an IP company. Gradually, we hope to no longer say that we will become the Disney of China. rdquo;

He hopes to one day become the world’s bubble Mart.

Today’s Bubble Mart has expanded the boundaries and imagination of its IP to areas such as jewelry, plush toys, building blocks, and cards, as well as derivatives such as stationery, household items, and clothing. It has also tried to cross the border to theme parks, New fields such as film and television, mobile games, and want to create a true entertainment kingdom.

However, these diversification measures are still difficult to replace trendy entertainment as a strong growth point at the moment.

LABUBU’s online popularity confirms Bubble Mart’s influence in Southeast Asia.”Nezha 2″ may help it emerge in high-potential markets such as North America and the New Olympics, or add a power engine.

Just that the larger the market, the greater the uncertainty. If you want to complete a grand layout, it is even more difficult to talk about.

Pulling the thorns of word-of-mouth decline in the marketing magic and finding new development certainty is the top priority.

Fortunately, according to official forecasts, Bubble Mart’s total sales in 2024 will exceed 10 billion yuan, with revenue growth of no less than 60%.

This is not far from Wang Ning’s dream of going into the world.