At the peak of the Labubu craze in 2025, Pop Mart, the company behind the viral blind box toys, was worth more than Mattel and Hasbro combined. That's Barbie AND Nerf, beaten by a snaggle-toothed elf from artist Kasing Lung's 'The Monsters' universe, dangling off the designer handbags of Lisa from BLACKPINK, Rihanna and Cher. Then the bubble burst: resale prices cratered, counterfeit 'Lafufus' flooded the market, Pop Mart's stock plunged more than 22 percent in a single day, and founder Wang Ning personally lost 2.7 billion dollars before...
At the peak of the Labubu craze in 2025, Pop Mart, the company behind the viral blind box toys, was worth more than Mattel and Hasbro combined. That's Barbie AND Nerf, beaten by a snaggle-toothed elf from artist Kasing Lung's 'The Monsters' universe, dangling off the designer handbags of Lisa from BLACKPINK, Rihanna and Cher. Then the bubble burst: resale prices cratered, counterfeit 'Lafufus' flooded the market, Pop Mart's stock plunged more than 22 percent in a single day, and founder Wang Ning personally lost 2.7 billion dollars before lunch. This is Just The Gist (MINI!) of the rise and fall of Labubu: the blind box craze, the celebrity bag charm frenzy, and the toy bubble that burst almost overnight.
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Bryan Yambao in conversation with Kasing Lung, the creative force behind Labubu (Perfect Magazine, 2025)
Toy Mogul Wang Ning Loses Almost $3 Billion As Shares Of Labubu Maker Pop Mart Drop On Overseas Slowdown (Forbes, 2026)
Why Labubu Maker Pop Mart's Shares Are Plunging (Bloomberg Television on YouTube, 2026)
Meet The Teacher Who Wakes Up At 3:30 AM For His Labubu Business (Business Insider on YouTube, 2025)
'Labubu' is a plush toy that is causing a frenzy. Here's its origin story (NPR, 2025)
The Downfall of Labubus (YouTube, 2025)
Fever to fatigue? Pop Mart welcomes the fall in Labubu resale prices (CNBC, 2025)
Pop Mart shares plunge over 22% as concerns over sustainability of Labubu sales dwarf stellar results (CNBC, 2026)
What comes after Labubu? Inside Pop Mart's next growth play (CNBC, 2026)
Kasing Lung (Wikipedia)
Pop Mart Founder Wang Ning's Net Worth Drops $6 Billion As Labubu Demand Cools (Forbes, 2025)
Once richer than Peter Thiel, Pop Mart's Wang Ning sees $6 billion vanish with Labubu hype (Fortune, 2025)
Why Are People Lining Up for Labubus? (UC San Diego Today, 2025)
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