Lisa isn’t the only one clamouring for Pop Mart’s toys. This year, the Beijing-based company has turned from an in-the-know favourite among China’s Gen Z to a global phenomenon. In the US and Australia, fans have reportedly queued for hours, sometimes in the middle of the night, for new releases. Stores have popped up in the cities including Paris, Milan and New York. Overseas sales have jumped fivefold.
In a Vanity Fair video last month, Lisa, a member of mega K-pop band Blackpink, shared her obsession with toys from Chinese company Pop Mart International Group.
“I go crazy. It’s like I spent all my money,” she laughed, unboxing dolls from the toymaker’s PUCKY Roly Poly Kitty series. “I go to Pop Mart everywhere. If I fly to New York, I try to find Pop Mart there. Paris, you know, everywhere. (It’s) kind of like finding treasure.”
