Pop Mart’s Merodi Hong Kong debut highlights challenges of sustaining IP success

At Pop Mart’s shop in Hong Kong’s bustling Causeway Bay shopping district, a display of the toymaker’s newly launched character, Merodi, drew little attention on Friday morning. “A few people are buying it,” a salesperson said. “It’s not very well known yet.” The new series, Merodi After School, features a mischievous little girl with the magical ability to talk to animals. It was created by Taiwanese artist Will Chen Wei-hua. The launch came two months after Pop Mart’s previous debut, Supertutu, and is part of the company’s efforts to speed up the roll-out of new intellectual properties (IPs) beyond its most successful character, Labubu. Like Supertutu, however, Merodi’s launch has so far drawn an underwhelming response. The new IP was released online at 10pm on Thursday night and was still available on Friday, unlike many of the toymaker’s more popular characters, which often sold out shortly after debut, including Twinkle Twinkle. Last August, mini Labubus sold out in 60 seconds. Investors, however, seem confident. On Friday, Pop Mart’s shares closed more than 2 per cent higher at HK$229.80. “We think the new IPs require a longer cycle to raise their profile among customers,” said Jeff Zhang, an equity analyst at Morningstar. “With fashion risks remaining high, it’s natural to see some IPs failing to reach critical mass eventually, and Pop Mart will adjust product roll-outs accordingly. “We think Pop Mart will keep launching new IPs to capture fans’ preferences, so the tepid response to one or two may not significantly impact its reputation.” Richard Lin, chief consumer analyst at investment bank SPDB International, said Labubu was not an overnight hit. “It wasn’t actually that popular before [K-pop girl group Blackpink member] Lisa helped popularise it,” Lin said. “It needs to gain traction on social media first.” As Labubu’s meteoric rise cools, Pop Mart faces challenges in turning hype into stable IP. In 2024, Labubu dolls began to gain global attention after Lisa posted photos of herself with the plush toys as well as keychain pendants on Instagram. Since then, celebrities such as Rihanna, Kim Kardashian and David Beckham have endorsed the “ugly cute” character. Labubu was at one point in 2025 priced at more than 20 times its retail value in secondary markets, becoming Pop Mart’s most successful line to date. Pop Mart’s share price dropped from a peak of HK$339.80 in late August last year to HK$187.70 by the end of 2025 as prices of some of Labubu models in the secondary market fell, fuelling debate over whether the company’s success had become too reliant on short-lived hype. For the full year, Labubu’s sales volume exceeded 100 million units, chairman Wang Ning said at an internal gala, according to mainland media. On Friday morning, shoppers at the Pop Mart store in Causeway Bay were seen shaking Labubu or Twinkle Twinkle blind boxes, hoping to guess what is inside, while a queue formed at the checkout counter. As for Merodi, a salesperson said: “It is cute. I would sometimes recommend it to customers.”