Chinese toy figurine retailer Pop Mart raises $100m
Chinese black-box doll retailer Pop Mart has raised more than $100 million in funding from China Renaissance and Loyal Valley Capital in what is expected to be its last round before an IPO.
Completion of the round was confirmed to AVCJ by several sources. Pop Mart could file for a Hong Kong listing as early as next month.
Founded in 2010, the company went public on China's National Equities Exchange & Quotations (NEEQ) - also known as the New Third Board - in 2017. It delisted last year.
Pop Mart designs cartoon character-related mini-figures, which are sold under a blind box model. The company's flagship store on Alibaba Group's Tmall platform gives customers two choices: buy a set of 12 dolls for RMB708 ($100); or buy a single doll without knowing which one. Customers might require several dozen black boxes to complete the set.
The company is best known for its Molly character, for which there are multiple series of dolls covering different themes. Additional product lines have been launched in collaboration with intellectual property owners like The Walt Disney Company. This has resulted in, among other things, a figurine that combines characteristics of Molly and Micky Mouse.
Pop Mart has 140 stores located in shopping malls nationwide and also sells products through more than 850 automated vending machines. Sales on Tmall alone amounted to RMB82 million during China's most recent November 11 Single's Day shopping festival, up 295% year-on-year.
Huaqiang Capital invested RMB40 million in Pop Mart for a 5.4% stake in 2017, according to AVCJ Research.
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