On July 13, Chinese trendsetting toy company Pop Mart (HK:09992) officially opened its first store in Milan, Italy, located on Corso Buenos Aires. The store features a predominantly yellow color scheme, cleverly incorporating the classic colors of the Italian flag. Corso Buenos Aires is one of “Europe’s longest shopping streets,” home to over 350 shops.
Simultaneously, Pop Mart also opened its first store in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Kalverstraat. This store features an orange color scheme and showcases the popular “Peach Riot” series (with a special hand-drawn illustration by artist Libby Frame for the opening), and the MEGA ROYAL MOLLY x Van Gogh Museum collaboration featuring Almond Blossom. Kalverstraat is one of Amsterdam’s main shopping streets, stretching 750 meters. In October last year, Pop Mart launched its first pop-up store in Amsterdam.
With the official opening of these two flagship stores, Pop Mart has further expanded its business footprint in the European market.
Pop Mart began its global expansion in 2018, and by the first half of 2022, its Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas business had transitioned from a primarily B2B model to a DTC (Direct-to-Consumer) model.
In January 2022, Pop Mart opened its first UK store on Shaftesbury Avenue in central London, marking its entry into the European market.
In February 2023, Pop Mart’s first store in France officially opened in the Westfield Forum des Halles shopping center in Paris, located on the first floor near Rue Rambuteau.
Pop Mart’s 2023 annual report shows that in 2023, its business revenue in the Chinese Mainland grew by 35.6% year-on-year to 5.81 billion yuan. Its Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas business performed even better, with revenue reaching 1.066 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase of 134.9%, accounting for 16.9% of total revenue and surpassing the 1 billion yuan mark for the first time.
As of December 31, 2023, Pop Mart had 80 stores (including joint ventures) and 159 robot stores (including joint ventures and franchises) in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and overseas.
At this year’s shareholder meeting in May, Pop Mart stated that unlike many domestic brands expanding abroad merely to meet the needs of Chinese people overseas, they are fully localized. They not only localize sales but also entrust production and manufacturing to countries like Vietnam and others, supported by a large overseas operations team.
| Source: Official Pop Mart Instagram
| Image Source: Official Pop Mart Instagram
| Editor: LeZhi
