Source: Securities Daily 2025-07-30 09:38

On July 28th, Goldman Sachs released a research report stating that compared with mature markets such as North America and Japan, China's current IP spending scale is still significantly low. However, emotional value endows IP with a higher premium, and convenient media channels such as short videos and live streaming also expand the audience.

The Chinese IP toy market remains a blue ocean. Yang Huaiyu, a senior researcher at Shanghai Xiazhi Liangshi Consulting Management Co., Ltd. and an analyst in the consumer goods industry, told the Securities Daily, "Domestic IP toy brands in China are in a highly competitive situation." The combined market share of the top five IP toy companies in the market is only 20.8%, while the rest are scattered among small and medium-sized manufacturers. This also means that there is still a breakthrough opportunity for the industry to overtake others.

The Chinese market has huge potential

Goldman Sachs 'research report suggests that the Chinese IP toy market has the potential for further growth, with stronger driving factors emerging on both the supply and demand sides. On the supply side, a diversified IP matrix is expected to continuously expand the customer base, while carefully designed product and category expansion provide a carrier for IP monetization.

From the perspective of domestic products, the category of trendy toys has expanded from blind boxes to more types such as plush toys, movable dolls, and big dolls. Meanwhile, the pace of new creation of original ips has accelerated. For instance, 52TOYS has successively launched three original ips, namely CiCiLu, PoukaPouka and NINNIC, this year, while Letsvan has introduced a brand-new original IP, SiiNONO. Sun Yuanwen, the founder and CEO of the trendy TOY brand TOP TOY, also stated that the company plans to increase the proportion of self-developed products from 40% to 70%.

While the domestic market is booming, Chinese enterprises are catching up overseas at a rapid pace. Public data shows that the overseas market share of Chinese collectible toys has soared from 3% in 2020 to 18% in 2025.

According to the latest revenue data disclosed by the global IP toy giants Lego, Bandai Namco, and Sanrio, Lego's revenue in 2024 is expected to be 78.6 billion yuan, while Bandai Namco's revenue for the fiscal year 2024 (April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025) is approximately 60 billion yuan. Sanrio's revenue for the fiscal year 2024 (April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025) is approximately 7.1 billion yuan.

In 2024, Pop Mart, a leading Chinese IP toy company, achieved a revenue of 13 billion yuan, surpassing Sanrio. According to the profit forecast released by Pop Mart on July 18th, the company's revenue in the first half of 2025 is expected to increase by no less than 200% compared with the same period last year, and its net profit is expected to increase by no less than 350% compared with the same period last year. Continue to maintain a high growth rate.

Yang Huaiyu believes that the potential that Pop Mart has unleashed in overseas markets will enhance its competitiveness in the global market. Facing the global trend of IP toy competition, it is inevitable for Chinese enterprises to confront global giants head-on in the future, and large-scale "going global" of brands has also become a certainty.

Domestic brands are directly facing global competition

In the context of global competition, the global layout of overseas giants is an important development advantage for them. For instance, Lego has over 1,000 stores worldwide, and 500 of them are located in China. Bandai Namco has set a performance target for its toy business in the next fiscal year to "break the previous highest performance record", hoping to achieve a revenue of 29 billion yuan and a net profit of 5.1 billion yuan in the fiscal year 2025. This confidence is also attributed to the company's performance growth in North America and Asia in the fiscal year 2024.

Against this backdrop, the pace of domestic enterprises' "going global" has begun to accelerate further. Jpmorgan Chase's report released in July predicted that Pop Mart's overseas sales would increase by 234% year-on-year in 2025.

A person in charge of a trendy toy enterprise told the Securities Daily that the globalization of Pop Mart has played a positive role in promoting the subsequent "going global" of Chinese brands. For instance, after Pop Mart became popular, many fans of trendy toys in Thailand have a high acceptance of Chinese brands. Now, many domestic brands' direct-sale stores will first choose to open in Thailand.

When discussing overseas layout at the third-quarter financial report meeting of fiscal year 2025, Li Peng, the founder of Quantum Song Group, mentioned that in terms of overseas markets, Quantum Song has initiated localized operations in Southeast Asia and North America. In early June, it held its first overseas pop-up event in Bangkok, Thailand, verifying its IP content "going global" capabilities and brand acceptance in the international market. Looking ahead, the company will continue to focus on structural optimization and resource efficiency, steadily advance the pace of key businesses, and strengthen the quality and sustainability of long-term growth.

A relevant person in charge of Kayou told the Securities Daily that in terms of overseas market expansion, Kayou announced its "going global" in October 2024. The number of "going global" ips has reached over a dozen. In terms of regional selection, Kayou prioritizes the expansion of the Southeast Asian market. Based on the mature ips and product categories in China, combined with the acceptance of different ips in various regions, Make differentiated adjustments to expand the market and achieve a shift from "product export" to "cultural export". In the future, the company will combine ips with advantages in different overseas markets or popular local ips for product research and development.

(This article is reprinted. If there is any infringement, please inform us and it will be deleted immediately!)