BEIJING – Pop Mart International Group, a Beijing-headquartered, character-focused entertainment company and toymaker, opened its first theme park in Beijing on Tuesday as it seeks its next growth driver and expands its business categories.
Located in Chaoyang Park inside the city’s East Third Ring, Pop Land has retail shops, catering, interactive plays and displays of its top intellectual properties – including characters such as Molly, Labubu, Dimoo, Skullpanda and Pucky – in collaboration with the Chaoyang Culture and Tourism Group.
Covering an area of 40,000 sq m, the theme park centres on a renovated castle that used to be a wedding hall in Chaoyang Park. It takes about 20 minutes to walk through its four major zones. The company has said there is a possibility of expanding the park areas for more interactive rides in the future, if current business goes well.
Tickets are priced at 180 yuan (S$33) on peak days and 150 yuan on weekdays. Crowds rushing to the park and its stores to grab exclusive toys have shown strong demand.
The company has expanded its business portfolio in recent years. Mr Wang Ning, chairman and chief executive officer of Pop Mart, told newspaper China Daily after the opening ceremony of the theme park that the company expects to make Pop Land the Chinese answer to Disneyland.
“The park is a major milestone for our business,” Wang said. “However, running a theme park business takes time and priority should go to operational management. Every detail matters,” Mr Wang said.
The CEO said it is not likely to open a second park very soon.
Compared with world-renowned theme parks like Disney, Universal Studios or Legoland, Pop Land is relatively small in scale and investment, said the company, offering more lightweight immersive experiences with IPs rather than a high ratio of thrill rides.
“The reason (the company executives chose) to start this project at a reasonable scale is because we realise it is crucial to accumulate experience from operations,” said Mr Wang.
Pop Land’s general manager Hu Jian said the resort offers visitors interactive opportunities with beloved IPs, and a platform to ignite interest and innovation in its trendy toys and figures. The park is targeted at consumers in their 30s who are beginning to start families.
According to its first half-year report of 2023, Pop Mart posted a revenue of 2.84 billion yuan, up 19.3 per cent year on year, and a net profit of 535 million yuan, a growth of 42.3 per cent. Its registered members totalled 30.38 million, after adding 4.38 million in the first six months. Its top three IPs, Skullpanda, Molly and Dimoo, contributed 46 per cent of its total revenue.
Ms Li Mengran, marketing manager at Utour, an online travel agency in Beijing, said Pop Land – a new trendy toy destination – is being well received by the wide range of fans of Pop Mart’s top IPs. “The mid-scale of the park and its IP-powered theme have injected new impetus into local tourism,” said Ms Li. “The fact that fans need to spend money on tickets will stimulate more retail sales for park-exclusive toys.”
She said the park is expected to meet the challenges of managing crowds and queues by improving service efficiency. However, generating sustainable content – such as stories and characters – to support the development of the park and boost repeat visits is vital, said tourism experts.
Yoga instructor Zhu Hong and her nine-year-old daughter in Beijing are both fans of Molly, the lead character of the Pop Mart universe. Zhu has booked tickets for her family of three to visit the theme park on Oct 15.
“We cannot wait to visit the park where we can take photos with the figures, have fun on the rides and buy our favourite toys,” she said. CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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