As Chinese companies ponder how best to market their products internationally, the example set by Pop Mart - the Beijing-based brand behind the viral Labubu toy - has been praised by the country's state media for the creativity that underlies its success.
Dasar mulut lebar dan mata lebar dari mainan tersebut memiliki basis penggemar global yang merupakan bukti pergeseran dalam prioritas bagi China saat negara ini bertransformasi dari produsen barang dengan nilai rendah menjadi pusat inovasi, kata Qiushi, jurnal teoretis utama Partai Komunis, dalam artikel komentar yang dipublikasikan pada hari Rabu.
With original Chinese intellectual property capturing global attention, the country, traditionally known as the world's factory of low-end toys, "has cultivated a robust innovation ecosystem" and "is increasingly serving as a global incubator where seeds of creativity are sprouting everywhere", the article said.
Pop Mart, yang terdaftar di Hong Kong, bekerja sama dengan berbagai seniman dan desainer untuk menghasilkan karakter mainan termasuk Molly dan Dimoo. Labubu, produk paling populer mereka, dirancang oleh seniman kelahiran Hong Kong Kasing Lung.
The company said its overseas and Hong Kong-Macau-Taiwan revenue rose 375% last year to 5 billion yuan (22.6 billion baht), accounting for nearly 40% of its total revenue.
Likening Labubu's success to other globally acclaimed Chinese products including the blockbuster video game Black Myth: Wukong and the animated film Ne Zha 2, the Qiushi commentary said: "Labubu's popularity is a vivid testament to Chinese companies' commitment to long-term innovation and the growing global recognition of Chinese creative products."
The plush toy has been so popular that it has spawned a wave of counterfeit products, known as "Lafufu" - with the f standing for fake. On social media platforms such as YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, "How to tell a Labubu from a Lafufu?" has become a viral topic.
In Dongguan, a manufacturing hub in southern China, some factories producing knock-offs say they are struggling to keep up with demand.
A couple have production backlogs due to the overwhelming number of Lafufu orders, Yicai, a business newspaper based in Shanghai, reported earlier this week.
The factories produce two types of replicas, which sell for under 20 yuan or 38 yuan - depending on the level of verisimilitude - compared with the official 99 yuan price for a 17cm-tall authentic Labubu plush.
In Yiwu, a global hub for small commodities in eastern China, counterfeits that have drawn the attention of the authorities have reportedly been "removed overnight".
Menanggapi kontroversi terkait replika dari Yiwu, pejabat dari administrasi pengawasan pasar setempat mengatakan kepada aplikasi Jiupai bahwa bisnis yang memproduksi atau menjual boneka Labubu harus memiliki izin resmi, dan bahwa administrasi tetap memiliki sikap tegas terhadap barang tiruan.
Tetapi beberapa perusahaan di Yiwu telah menemukan solusi hukum yang menguntungkan: memproduksi aksesori dan pakaian yang dirancang secara independen untuk boneka Labubu - atau Lafufu.
Seorang wanita mengatakan pabriknya, yang mempekerjakan 600 hingga 700 pekerja dan memproduksi 20.000 hingga 30.000 item per hari, tidak memiliki stok inventaris lagi karena permintaan yang melonjak di Eropa dan Amerika Serikat, dilaporkan aplikasi berita Qianjiang minggu lalu.
She said her business had expanded to three storefronts at Yiwu International Trade City, up from just one three months ago.
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