Overview

• On June 20, Pop Mart’s Hong Kong shares plunged as much as 6.6%, marking an 11% drop over two days and erasing HK$36 billion in market capitalization.
• The People’s Daily branded blind boxes as “business traps” that exploit unpredictable rewards to drive repeat purchases.
• Commentary warned that minors are especially vulnerable to the model’s addictive mechanics due to their developing self-control.
• Pop Mart’s revenue relies heavily on sealed blind boxes and blind cards, where the chance of obtaining rare editions is below 2%.
• In 2023, Chinese authorities banned the sale of blind boxes to children under eight to curb potential addiction.