Who is buying the 1299 yuan Pop Mart necklace?
Text｜Ren Cairu
Editor｜Qiao Qian
Entering the Lujiazui International Finance Center (IFC) mall and taking the escalator down to the LG2 floor, a green store in the middle island area catches the eye, giving a sense of both lightness and low-key. 进入陆家嘴国际金融中心（IFC）商场，乘坐自动扶梯下到 LG2 层，位于中岛区域的一家绿色店铺引人注目，给人一种轻盈而低调的感觉。
The open pop-up space called "POPOP" is one of the first two offline stores opened after Pop Mart officially launched its jewelry brand. Approaching, you will see a few customers in the store picking and trying on jewelry, and a serious security guard in black standing at the door - perhaps considering the "jewelry" attribute of POPOP, or perhaps the all-round explosion of Pop Mart in the past year inevitably makes people worry about the excessive passenger flow. IFC provides this store with free separate security. 名为“POPOP”的开放式快闪空间是泡泡玛特正式推出其珠宝品牌后开设的首批两家线下门店之一。走近时，您会看到店内有几位顾客在挑选和试戴珠宝，门口站着一位表情严肃的黑衣保安——也许是考虑到 POPOP 的“珠宝”属性，又或许是泡泡玛特在过去一年的全面爆发不可避免地让人担心客流量过大。IFC 为这家店提供免费的独立安保。
The pop-up store of POPOP in Shanghai IFC, with green as the main color; photographed by 36Kr 上海 IFC 的 POPOP 快闪店，以绿色为主色调；36Kr 拍摄
On the second day after the opening of this pop-up store, 36Kr conducted a store exploration. Whenever a customer comes to the door, the clerk will gently introduce, "We are POPOP, the jewelry brand under Pop Mart. If you like, you can try it on." After a family of three entered the store, the girl in the middle school uniform tried on the "Molly" necklace and the "Hirono" ring with her mother, saying, "This is nice. If you don't wear it, I can wear it." 这家快闪店开业后的第二天，36Kr 进行了一次探店。每当有顾客上门时，店员都会轻声介绍：“我们是 POPOP，是泡泡玛特旗下的珠宝品牌。如果您喜欢，可以试戴一下。”一家三口进店后，穿着中学校服的女孩和妈妈一起试戴了“Molly”项链和“Hirono”戒指，说：“这个不错。如果你不戴，我可以戴。”
Ten minutes later, they came to the cashier with three "trophies". The clerk asked, "Did you come here by chance or on purpose?" The other party replied, "We just went to the Pop Mart store and found that there were no new products. We came out for a stroll and only then learned that there is also a jewelry brand." 十分钟后，他们拿着三件“战利品”来到收银台。店员问道：“您是偶然来的还是特意来的？”对方回答：“我们刚去了泡泡玛特店，发现没有新产品。我们出来闲逛，才知道这里还有一个珠宝品牌。”
During the hour around 8 p.m., the above-mentioned "entering the store - picking - trying on - paying" occurred about 6 times. A clerk told 36Kr that the previous day was the store's opening day. Coincidentally, a securities firm was holding an annual meeting on the upper floors of the International Finance Center. "Many analysts with backpacks came to the store at noon, most of them were men. Some people bought a full set of accessories of their favorite IP, and some bought for their family and friends. There were also many with a per-customer transaction value of five or six thousand yuan." 在晚上 8 点左右的一个小时内，上述“进店 - 挑选 - 试戴 - 付款”的过程发生了约 6 次。一名店员告诉 36Kr，前一天是店铺开业日。巧合的是，一家证券公司在国际金融中心的高层举行年会。“中午有很多背着背包的分析师来到店里，大部分是男性。有些人买了一整套他们喜欢的 IP 的配饰，有些人是为家人和朋友买的。也有很多人的每客交易价值为五六千元。”
Some products of POPOP; photographed by 36Kr POPOP 的一些产品；36Kr 拍摄
For the average consumer, compared with its silver jewelry material, such a price has a not-low premium. In addition, the POPOP store also has a rather "luxurious" feel. According to 36Kr's understanding, the store manager of this pop-up store in IFC comes from LV, and the clerks in black suits and white gloves will try their best to provide each customer with one-on-one introduction and fitting services. The future recruitment of POPOP clerks will mainly focus on those with a luxury brand background or jewelry background. 对于普通消费者来说，与其银质珠宝材料相比，这样的价格具有不低的溢价。此外，POPOP 店也有一种相当“奢华”的感觉。据 36Kr 了解，IFC 这家快闪店的店长来自 LV，身穿黑色西装、戴白色手套的店员会尽力为每位顾客提供一对一的介绍和试戴服务。POPOP 店员的未来招聘将主要集中在具有奢侈品牌背景或珠宝背景的人员上。
A person close to Pop Mart told 36Kr, "The POPOP team currently has about 15 people and is still a very new small business, but its internal positioning is clear. It should not be integrated into any existing Pop Mart stores in the future and will always exist in the form of an independent pop-up store or an independent store." The logic behind this is that the Pop Mart stores are mainly non-intrusive, but the per-customer transaction value, experience form, services required by users, and the length of stay of POPOP are completely different and more "upward". 一位接近泡泡玛特的人士告诉 36Kr：“POPOP 团队目前约有 15 人，仍是一个非常新的小业务，但内部定位明确。未来不应融入任何现有的泡泡玛特门店，将始终以独立快闪店或独立门店的形式存在。”其背后的逻辑是，泡泡玛特门店主要是非侵入性的，但 POPOP 的每客交易价值、体验形式、用户所需服务和停留时间完全不同，更加“向上”。
Cindy is one of the first batch of buyers of POPOP. In her opinion, the price of POPOP is above average and not cheap, but it is within an acceptable range. "The reason it is worth it is the IP image." She is a fan of IPs such as LABUBU and Hirono, and is also the highest-level member of Pop Mart, "Master Collector". After hearing from a colleague that a Pop Mart jewelry store had opened downstairs, she went to visit and found that the jewelry design of Hirono was "novel enough and very in line with the characteristics of this character", so she bought a 1699 yuan necklace. Cindy 是 POPOP 的首批买家之一。在她看来，POPOP 的价格高于平均水平，并不便宜，但在可接受范围内。“它值得的原因是 IP 形象。”她是 LABUBU 和 Hirono 等 IP 的粉丝，也是泡泡玛特的最高级别会员，“大师收藏家”。听到同事说楼下开了一家泡泡玛特珠宝店后，她去参观，发现 Hirono 的珠宝设计“足够新颖，非常符合这个角色的特点”，于是她买了一条 1699 元的项链。
Buyers like Cindy are one of the classic user groups in the early stage of POPOP - they are familiar with many IPs under Pop Mart, and do not need much persuasion to naturally understand the "ingenuity" behind the jewelry. 像 Cindy 这样的买家是 POPOP 早期的经典用户群体之一——他们熟悉泡泡玛特旗下的许多 IP，不需要太多劝说就能自然理解珠宝背后的“匠心”。
Cindy is very familiar when introducing the necklace she bought to us, "It has the same design as a blind box of Hirono, but it is a 'rocket launcher + Hirono' set. The rocket launcher can be opened, and Hirono can also be taken out and worn separately. There are different combinations, and the aging process is very delicate. The service in the store is also not bad." Cindy 在向我们介绍她买的项链时非常熟悉，“它的设计和 Hirono 的盲盒一样，但它是一个‘火箭发射器 + Hirono’套装。火箭发射器可以打开，Hirono 也可以取出单独佩戴。有不同的组合，做旧工艺非常精细。店里的服务也不错。”
The style of the necklace purchased by Cindy. The rocket launcher and the internal Hirono can be separated and combined (Image source: Official) Cindy 购买的项链的款式。火箭发射器和内部的 Hirono 可以分离和组合（图片来源：官方）
The mature IP recognition is indeed a "sharp weapon" for Pop Mart to make jewelry. According to 36Kr's understanding, the products of POPOP are divided by IP. Currently, there are about 4 - 5 IP products on the market, including SPACE MOLLY, Hirono, SKULLPANDA, MOLLY Classic, etc. 成熟的 IP 认知确实是泡泡玛特制作珠宝的“利器”。据 36Kr 了解，POPOP 的产品按 IP 划分。目前市场上约有 4 - 5 个 IP 产品，包括 SPACE MOLLY、Hirono、SKULLPANDA、MOLLY Classic 等。
Customers who enter the POPOP store and stay usually directly mention the name of the IP they like in the conversation with the clerk, thereby forming a purposeful and tacit picking interaction. "IFC is a high-end luxury business district with a relatively small flow of people. But basically, customers who know about us and come in to have a look will make a purchase." A clerk told 36Kr. 进入 POPOP 店并停留的顾客通常会在与店员的对话中直接提到他们喜欢的 IP 名称，从而形成一种有目的且默契的挑选互动。“IFC 是一个高端奢侈品商业区，人流量相对较小。但基本上，了解我们并进来看看的顾客都会购买。”一名店员告诉 36Kr。
In the design of jewelry, the elements and stories of the IP itself are also easily perceived. For example, the jewelry related to "Hirono" is more neutral in style and rough in texture. The product forms will be presented as openable books, wrinkled letter paper, etc., which are quite mechanical and playable; the jewelry related to "SPACE MOLLY" is simpler, and the "MOLLY Classic" series incorporates elements such as shell pearls and silver beads, with a more delicate and elegant style. 在珠宝设计中，IP 本身的元素和故事也很容易被感知。例如，与“Hirono”相关的珠宝风格更中性，质地更粗糙。产品形式将以可打开的书籍、皱巴巴的信纸等形式呈现，颇具机械性和可玩性；与“SPACE MOLLY”相关的珠宝更简单，“MOLLY Classic”系列融入了贝壳珍珠和银珠等元素，风格更加精致优雅。
Relying on IP integration to extend from figurines and blind boxes to more categories is the direction that Pop Mart has been practicing for a long time. In a conversation with senior journalist Li Xiang, Wang Ning, the founder of Pop Mart, talked about the difference between the domestic market strategy and the overseas market, saying, "In China, I hope to have more innovative businesses. After all, the base camp and the core team are here, and we hope to do some innovative things." Amusement parks, games, jewelry, and building blocks are all examples of innovation he mentioned. 依靠 IP 整合，从人偶和盲盒扩展到更多品类，是泡泡玛特长期以来一直在实践的方向。在与资深记者李翔的对话中，泡泡玛特创始人王宁谈到了国内市场策略与海外市场的区别，他说：“在中国，我希望有更多创新业务。毕竟大本营和核心团队都在这里，我们希望做一些创新的事情。”他提到的创新例子包括游乐园、游戏、珠宝和积木。
From a business perspective, one of the foundations of this cross-category extension is that the consumption behavior of Pop Mart's members is becoming more and more "sticky", which is also a direct manifestation of brand and IP recognition. 从商业角度来看，这种跨品类扩展的基础之一是泡泡玛特会员的消费行为变得越来越“粘性”，这也是品牌和 IP 认知的直接体现。
At the performance communication meeting in the second quarter of 2024, the management once talked about such changes - among the consumer members, the proportion of members who purchase two or more IPs continues to rise; the ARPU value and purchase unit price of old members have also increased, extending from only buying blind boxes to multiple categories such as building blocks and derivatives. It was also at that time that Pop Mart mentioned that "the company will launch a new jewelry brand in the second half of the year." 在 2024 年第二季度的业绩交流会上，管理层曾谈到过这样的变化——在消费会员中，购买两个及以上 IP 的会员比例持续上升；老会员的 ARPU 值和购买单价也有所提高，从只买盲盒扩展到积木、衍生品等多个品类。也正是在那个时候，泡泡玛特提到“公司将在下半年推出一个新的珠宝品牌。”
In other words, the increasing popularity of IPs has given Pop Mart more loyal consumers, and also made all business extensions logical. New businesses such as amusement parks and games have further enhanced the influence of IPs through forms such as the "live-action LABUBU". 换句话说，IP 的日益普及为泡泡玛特带来了更多忠实的消费者，也使所有业务扩展变得合乎逻辑。游乐园和游戏等新业务通过“真人版 LABUBU”等形式进一步增强了 IP 的影响力。
But a classic question that "goes back to the beginning" is what exactly is the source of people's love and recognition for Pop Mart? 但一个“回到原点”的经典问题是，人们对泡泡玛特的喜爱和认可究竟源于什么？
This is also a problem that plagued a group of investors in the early stage of Pop Mart's development. Now, with the breakthrough of Pop Mart, some people have begun to "realize" something, but there are still a large number of "confused" outsiders. 这也是泡泡玛特发展初期困扰一群投资者的问题。现在，随着泡泡玛特的突破，一些人已经开始“意识到”一些事情，但仍有大量“困惑”的局外人。
Cindy has spent more than 10,000 yuan on Pop Mart, and it is also difficult for her to clearly explain why she likes each favorite IP. Three years ago, she "fell into the pit" of LABUBU because "the quirky appearance is quite fun"; now she prefers "Hirono". Unlike LABUBU, which has its own friend line and story line, "Hirono is an independent little boy." Buying clothes for the favorite IP, changing clothes for it, or suddenly getting the style that has not been collected yet, will bring her a "sense of happiness". Cindy 在泡泡玛特上花费了超过 10000 元，她也很难清楚地解释为什么她喜欢每个喜欢的 IP。三年前，她因为“古怪的外表很有趣”而“掉进了 LABUBU 的坑”；现在她更喜欢“Hirono”。与有自己的朋友线和故事线的 LABUBU 不同，“Hirono 是一个独立的小男孩。”为喜欢的 IP 买衣服，为它换衣服，或者突然得到还没有收集到的款式，都会给她带来一种“幸福感”。
In Cindy's description, this love initially comes from visual charm - people's love for cute things may be an instinct. But in the past two years, Cindy can clearly feel that a greater Pop Mart trend has emerged around her. Many colleagues and friends have changed from "not understanding" to "being very interested in understanding",