Pop Mart International Group Ltd. (9992.HK) is increasingly looking overseas, betting that consumers in the U.S., Europe and Southeast Asia will pay even bigger premiums for its trendy collectible toys than their counterparts in China.
That bet crossed a new milestone a week ago when the company announced the acquisition of its partner in Britain, in what looks like its first such publicly disclosed purchase. Pop Mart certainly has plenty of money for such purchases, reporting about 5 billion yuan ($700 million) in cash and short-term investments at the end of last year, according to its latest annual report.
Such an overseas expansion will be critical for Pop Mart as its home mainland China market, which currently accounts for the big majority of its sales, shows rapid signs of slowing after years of breakneck growth. The company’s China sales actually fell between 5% and 10% in the first quarter, according to a company business update in April, extending a 3.3% decline last year.