01｜ The Line Around the Corner in SOHO
On a Saturday afternoon in New York's SOHO district, sunlight bathed the cobblestone streets.
Amidst the perfumeries, designer boutiques, and pop-up shops, a trendy toy store with a long queue outside its door stood out. Its logo was a bright yellow smiling face – it was POP MART from China.
"We took the subway from Brooklyn to try for a limited edition LABUBU."
"It's my first trip to the US, and I heard from a friend the lines here are even crazier than back home."
The line included Asian international students, local Gen Zers, and American families with children.
Taking photos outside and unboxing blind boxes inside had become their weekend "check-in ritual."
According to US real estate media reports, the store's average daily foot traffic is second only to the Apple SOHO flagship store, far surpassing clothing, fragrance, and beauty brands on the same street.
This is no coincidence.
In the US, POP MART is becoming a new cultural phenomenon –
both an Eastern trend symbol and a cultural experiment in "surprise economy."
02｜ Three Cities, Three Stories
(1) New York: A Confluence of Trends and Socializing
The SOHO store is like a "real-life TikTok live stream."
Moments of customers unboxing blind boxes are filmed as short videos, quickly landing on local trendy toy topic lists after being uploaded.
The store launches daily limited editions, with series like LABUBU, DIMOO, and Skullpanda rotating on shelves.
Behind each series lies POP MART's brand strategy –
building "social currency" through visual impact and emotional resonance.
In blind box culture, consumers aren't just buying a doll; they're buying a "shareable surprise."
Takeaway ①: Turning products into social content is the most efficient way for brand dissemination.
(2) California: From "Asian Brand" to "Family Entertainment"
At the POP MART store in Los Angeles, the customer base is distinctly different.
Parents hold their children's hands, picking boxes, taking photos, and sharing.
Holiday-limited items like "Christmas LABUBU" became hit gifts; the "Gentle Series" launched around Mother's Day was featured in local family media as "the best toy for parent-child play."
Within the American cultural context, POP MART has found an unexpected positioning –
it's both a trendy toy for young people and an emotional experience shared by families.
Here, "surprise" is no longer an individual pleasure but a common topic for families.
Takeaway ②: Cultural products should find emotional resonance points, not compete on price.
(3) Chicago: From Pop-ups to Collecting
The pop-up store in Chicago focuses on "Art and Collection."
The exhibition area is no different from a gallery; limited edition IPs are paired with lighting and backdrop walls, elevating blind boxes into "mini art sculptures."
The customers here are primarily art students and designers, with many reselling rare pieces on the secondary market.
POP MART is transforming "blind boxes" from entertainment consumer goods into collectible cultural commodities.
The US trendy toy media Toy Chronicle commented:
"What POP MART is doing is turning 'toys' into 'cultural carriers.'"
Takeaway ③: Only by shifting from selling products to selling a sense of value can a brand truly establish itself in the mainstream market.
03｜ The Power of "Cultural Translation"
POP MART's success lies not in the blind box itself, but in its power of "cultural translation."
• Restructuring Spatial Language:
US store designs are brighter with more negative space, and use higher color temperature lighting compared to stores in China.
This aligns with American consumers' aesthetic expectations for "display spaces."
• Localization of Language and Concepts:
Store staff no longer directly translate "盲盒" as "Blind Box,"
but use the more positive term "Surprise Box."
This change helped an unfamiliar concept gain quick acceptance.
• Integration with Holidays and Culture:
Halloween LABUBU, Christmas limited editions, and the Spring Garden series
allow Chinese IPs to naturally "grow locally" within American holiday atmospheres.
Takeaway ④: Going global isn't about exporting culture, but about retelling it.
04｜ The American Opportunity for the Blind Box Economy
The US market's acceptance of "trendy toys" is rapidly increasing.
According to NPD Group data, the US art toy market has seen an average annual growth of over 25% in the past three years.
Among younger generations, "collectible toys" are seen as a new form of investment and a social label.
POP MART's entry aligns with three trends:
1️⃣ Gen Z's search for "stress-relief entertainment";
2️⃣ The resurgence of small-format, high sales-per-square-foot retail;
3️⃣ Eastern visual aesthetics becoming popular symbols.
Simultaneously, it's making the US retail sector rethink:
Why can a Chinese brand, with its "small but beautiful" store model, achieve higher sales per square foot than American chains?
Because POP MART isn't just "selling products"; it's "managing surprise."
05｜ Three Globalisation Logics of the Brand
1️⃣ Small Format, Big Impact
Each store is typically under 80 square meters yet achieves ultra-high sales per square foot.
For expensive American retail districts, this is a light and highly efficient commercial solution.
2️⃣ Social is Propagation
Consumers spontaneously generate content on social media, creating a UGC flywheel effect.
From TikTok to Instagram, POP MART's content dissemination efficiency far exceeds that of traditional advertising.
3️⃣ Emotion-First Localization
It doesn't forcefully push "Eastern aesthetics," but uses universal emotions like "surprise," "healing," and "companionship" to achieve cultural connection.
These three logics are also key competitive advantages for Chinese brands in the era of globalization.
06｜ Conclusion: From Surprise to Resonance
Morgan Stanley noted in a recent research report:
"In the US market, POP MART currently has no direct competitor."
But what's truly fascinating isn't the "lack of competitors,"
but how it's helping more Americans begin to understand –
that designs from the East can also deliver gentle emotional value.
From New York's SOHO to street corners in California, POP MART isn't just selling toys.
It's selling a moment of anticipation, a random piece of joy, a culture that feels understood.
As more and more American consumers open those little boxes,
what they are unboxing might just be a new world:
A moment of surprise, belonging to Chinese brands, shared across the globe.
