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Xiaofei Xu

Hundreds of fans were already waiting in line – some young, some old, some pushing prams – when Camille Lacroix arrived at the opening of Chinese toy giant Pop Mart’s latest Paris location in the La Défense business district last month.
“I arrived at 10am, but guess how many people were already there before?” she wrote in a post about her visit on TikTok. “Spoiler: it was crazy.”
Others who survived the opening day crush flocked to the comment section to share their experiences.
“I arrived at 7.30am and there were already 87 people ahead of me,” one user wrote, adding the scared emoji. “But I got what I wanted.”
Having conquered large parts of East and Southeast Asia, the cult of Chinese blind-box toys has now made landfall in Europe.
For the uninitiated, brands like Pop Mart specialise in selling cute collectible dolls that can be clipped onto a key ring or a handbag. The twist: the toys are often sold in mystery boxes, so customers are never sure which character they will find inside.
Pop Mart has been a major force in Chinese retail for years, and already operates hundreds of outlets on the mainland. But it is now rapidly going global, with its Labubu and Crybaby ranges inspiring a devoted fan base around the world.
The company has opened flashy outlets in capitals across Europe – from the Louvre in Paris to London’s Oxford Street – where diehard fans are often prepared to wait for hours just to get their hands on their favourite dolls.
Parisian barista Siam Sartori, 23, is a veteran Pop Mart fan and a proud owner of about 20 of the company’s dolls. But she deliberately avoided the opening at La Défense: she knew it would be insane.
“Me and my friend love Labubu dolls, but we know when a new collection comes out there is always a war, so we always wait a bit for the craziness to die down,” she told the Post on Tuesday.
Pop Mart’s overseas sales skyrocketed almost fivefold last year, rising from 1.06 billion yuan (US$150 million) in 2023 to 5.06 billion yuan in 2024, according to the group’s latest financial statement published in March.
The intense devotion Pop Mart has been able to inspire among European consumers is almost unique for a Chinese brand, but it could represent a glimpse of the future, according to Arnold Ma, CEO of Qumin, a China-focused marketing agency based in London.
“It’s a really big sign and a shift,” Ma said. “In the future, Chinese brands will start to dominate markets not only with technological advances, but also by wrapping all those advances into a softer, more emotional package to convince people and compete with Western brands.”
What helps Chinese brands in general is this idea that China is really future-oriented
Sacha Courtial, researcher
Though Chinese trailblazers like electric vehicle maker BYD and drone specialist DJI have managed to win over Western consumers with their combination of advanced technology and low prices, they still sometimes lack that “understanding of how to convince people to make an emotional purchase”, Ma added.
The Chinese government is actively trying to foster new forms of cultural soft power, with policies focused on promoting China’s culture industry with creative intellectual property (IP).
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao called for China to “create platforms for IP creative design and new product releases” and “form commercial landmarks for IP markets” in an article published in the official Qizhi magazine in May.
Chinese brands have a better chance of winning over European consumers than ever before, as China’s recent technological breakthroughs have changed perceptions of the country’s products, analysts said.
“What helps Chinese brands in general is this idea that China is really future-oriented,” said Sacha Courtial, a China researcher at the Institut Jacques Delors in Paris.
Chinese goods are now “synonymous with quality”, whereas before they were “perceived as low-price but low-quality”, Courtial added.
The success of Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek was widely covered and discussed in Europe, which has again boosted the image of China and Chinese products in Europe, according to Courtial.
“European consumers will make the association in their minds – China can make good AI, so their EVs must also be good,” he said.
More Chinese brands across sectors will find their way to Europe, Courtial predicted. But they will face increasing scrutiny from local governments, as the continent looks to de-risk in key sectors and promote its own next-generation industrial champions.


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Shoppers look through the window of a Pop Mart store near the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Chinese toy giant has attracted a devoted fan base in Europe with its Labubu and Crybaby collectible dolls. Photo: Xinhua

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The craze is the latest sign that Chinese brands are becoming more skilled at winning over Western consumers


The craze is the latest sign that Chinese brands are becoming more skilled at winning over Western consumers.


How Europe went ‘crazy’ for Chinese blind-box toys – and why it matters

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The craze is the latest sign that Chinese brands are becoming more skilled at winning over Western consumers

The craze is the latest sign that Chinese brands are becoming more skilled at winning over Western consumers