Pop Mart City Park Hits Profitability in 2024: What This Means for China’s IP Economy

Pop Mart (Paopao Mate 泡泡玛特) just dropped some fascinating numbers.

Their flagship City Park—a theme park hybrid that opened in Beijing in 2023—turned profitable in its first full year of operations.

But here’s the plot twist: the executives don’t really care about the profit margins.

In a recent statement to media outlets, including The Paper (Pengpai Xinwen 澎湃新闻), Hu Jian (胡健), Vice President of Pop Mart International Group (Paopao Mate Guoji Jituan 泡泡玛特国际集团) and General Manager of City Park, made it clear that profit isn’t the primary metric here.

“The park is not just a business task; it is a work of art,” he said on April 24.

So what’s really going on?

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The Philosophy Behind Pop Mart’s Unconventional Strategy

Pop Mart often makes decisions that appear non-commercial on the surface but actually yield solid commercial results down the line.

Think of it this way:

• Short to medium term: The park bolsters Pop Mart’s IP portfolio and brand visibility
• Long term: It becomes a significant revenue driver for the entire group

This mindset reflects Pop Mart’s broader strategic priorities:

• Globalization
• Group integration
• IP-centric expansion

The Beijing Chaoyang Park (Beijing Chaoyang Gongyuan 北京朝阳公园) location is essentially a testbed for this strategy—proving that you can build a sustainable entertainment business around collectible toy IPs.

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City Park’s Explosive Growth: The 2025 Traffic Numbers Tell the Story

Here’s where things get really interesting.

When Pop Mart closed specific sections of City Park in early 2025 for renovations, the team set a modest goal: just maintain 2024 traffic levels.

They were operating with two-thirds of the park closed.

The results?

Absolutely blew past expectations.

According to Hu Jian, here’s what actually happened in 2025:

• In the first half of 2025 alone, visitor traffic surpassed the entire 2024 annual total
• Full-year 2025 traffic grew 70% year-on-year

That’s not a slow burn—that’s explosive adoption.

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Visitor Demographics Shift: It’s Not Just Local Families Anymore

The original assumption was that City Park would primarily serve local Beijing families looking for weekend entertainment.

Wrong.

The actual visitor makeup tells a different story:

• 58% of visitors are tourists from outside Beijing
• Nearly 60% are non-family tourists (think: collectors, enthusiasts, social media creators)

This demographic shift is crucial.

It means Pop Mart has tapped into something much bigger than regional entertainment—they’ve created a destination that draws people from across China (and potentially worldwide).

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The LABURIB Phenomenon: How One IP Drives Massive Growth

The 2025 traffic surge is directly tied to LABURIB becoming a viral IP.

Here’s what makes this interesting: LABURIB started as a sculpture in the park, then a song was composed specifically for it.

That “LABURIB Song” went viral.

Now Pop Mart is expanding the IP boundaries in multiple directions:

• Jewelry stores
• Live-action animated film (partnering with Sony Pictures / Suoni Yingye 索尼影业)
• Lifestyle products (like THE MONSTERS cooler series)

This is classic IP playbook execution: take something successful and expand it across categories and formats.

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Pop Mart’s 2025 Financial Results: Revenue Explodes Beyond Expectations

On March 25, Pop Mart released its 2025 annual report.

The numbers are staggering:

Metric	Figure	Growth
Group Revenue	¥37.12 billion RMB ($5.19 billion USD)	+184.7% YoY
Adjusted Net Profit	¥13.08 billion RMB ($1.83 billion USD)	+284.5% YoY
Gross Profit Margin	72.1%	Up from 66.8% (2024)
THE MONSTERS Revenue	¥10 billion RMB ($1.4 billion USD)	First time >¥10B

This was Pop Mart’s first time crossing the ¥30 billion RMB ($4.2 billion USD) revenue threshold.

But wait—there’s more context here.

Beyond LABURIB, Pop Mart has six other major IP franchises that each generated revenues exceeding ¥2 billion RMB ($280 million USD):

• SKULLPANDA
• CRYBABY
• MOLLY
• DIMOO
• Hirono (Xingxing Ren 星星人)
• Others in their portfolio

That’s significant portfolio diversification for a company that started in toys.

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Market Concerns and Pop Mart’s Response: Is LABURIB Over-Relied Upon?

Not everyone was thrilled with the guidance Pop Mart released.

Wang Ning (王宁), Pop Mart’s founder, set 2026 performance guidance to “strive for a growth rate of no less than 20%.”

To some market observers, this looked conservative.

The concern was straightforward: Is Pop Mart too dependent on LABURIB?

What if that IP cools off?

The stock price dipped temporarily following the earnings report.

Pop Mart’s response?

Share buybacks for three consecutive trading days.

Management was basically saying: we believe in this story.

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Phase II Construction: What’s Coming Next

City Park didn’t just profit in 2024—it’s also expanding.

Here’s the timeline:

• April 30, 2026: New areas open to the public
• July 30, 2026: Full grand reopening scheduled
• 2027: Phase II construction officially launches

Phase II will introduce new themed scenes featuring:

• SKULLPANDA
• Hirono (Xingxing Ren 星星人)

This multi-phase approach makes sense strategically.

By staggering openings and introducing new IP-focused experiences, Pop Mart keeps the attraction feeling fresh and gives collectors reasons to return multiple times per year.

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Will Pop Mart Replicate City Park in Other Chinese Cities?

This is the question every investor is asking.

Hu Jian’s answer: not yet.

“For us, the park is a project for ‘cultivating people through tasks.’
We will definitely expand and explore more innovative formats in the future, but we will take it slow.”

He also revealed something important: Pop Mart has now mastered the full workflow of theme park management.

That includes:

• Site selection
• Design feasibility
• Operational logistics

So they could replicate this in other cities.

But the measured approach suggests they’re focused on perfecting Beijing first before scaling.

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Pop Mart vs. Disney and Universal: How the Comparison Misses the Point

Inevitably, people compare Pop Mart City Park to theme park giants like Disney (Disini 迪士尼) and Universal Studios (Huanqiu Yingcheng 环球影城).

Hu Jian pushed back on this framing.

His key differentiation points:

• Unique IP: Pop Mart owns and controls its characters in ways these incumbents don’t
• Consumer Insight: Deep understanding of collector psychology and community dynamics

Here’s the important part: Pop Mart isn’t trying to be a “cheaper alternative” to Disney.

Even when Pop Mart was a small toy company, they focused on niche market demands instead of trying to compete on scale.

The same philosophy applies here.

“Pop Mart City Park is not benchmarking against any other park,” Hu said.

“We aren’t in a pure competitive relationship; we are working together to make this market better and larger.”

That’s a smart positioning.

Rather than view theme parks as a zero-sum game, Pop Mart sees them as a growing category where different players can coexist by serving different audiences.

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Why This Matters for Chinese Tech and IP Strategy

Pop Mart’s City Park profitability and growth trajectory signal something bigger about the direction of Chinese tech and entertainment companies.

We’re seeing IP-first thinking penetrate beyond just toys into physical experiences, film, merchandise, and lifestyle categories.

The playbook is becoming clearer:

1. Build niche, beloved IP
2. Monetize across multiple formats (collectibles, apparel, digital, physical experiences)
3. Expand internationally while maintaining cultural relevance
4. Create community and fandom around these IPs

Pop Mart is executing this at scale—and it’s working.

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References

• Pop Mart VP: City Park Profitable in 2024, Phase II Starts Next Year – The Paper
• Official Website – Pop Mart
• Pop Mart Global Expansion and Earnings Report – Reuters