Gift lottery blind box box
In early March of 2002 13, when people were still feeling that Liu Neng replaced Ye Qingjie in Country Love13, the blind box of Country Love was officially launched. According to the blind box introduction chart of Country Love, there are five models in vol. 1 series I * * *, namely, the regular model Xie Guangkun, Zhao Si, Song Xiaofeng, Xie Dajiao and the hidden model Liu Neng.
As soon as the news came out, it was ranked second in the list of trendy things in Weibo in less than two hours. "Tieling is at the end of the universe, and nostalgia is at the top of the tide drama", "Liu Neng, Liu Neng, wish Liu Neng" ... Only 6 hours after the launch, the first batch of blind boxes of the country love edition were all sold out.
I have to say that with the fashionable carrier of "blind box", soil IP has also quickly stepped out of the circle. Since the rapid rise of the blind box economy in China, "blind box" is like a panacea for marketing, ranging from flights and cars to fresh food and toys.
In addition, with the sample of POP MART, capital began to pay for the "blind box" story. Tao Qing, an entrepreneur from Wan Chao, bluntly told China Investment Network that after POP MART went public, the attitude of capital towards its company changed greatly. From ignorance to chasing investment, the valuation has also risen a lot.
But returning to the essence of mass consumption, is this "blind box fever" mixed with bubbles? Can capital usher in the "next POP MART"?
Uncertainty is addictive, and buses also introduce blind boxes.
The wind of the blind box even blew on the city bus.
2021March 18, according to the poster news report of the public network, Jiang, the driver of Qingdao Chengyun Holding Bus Licang No.29, made a blind box in the carriage to let passengers open the spring.
It is reported that these homemade blind boxes are small gifts related to the vernal equinox custom. Every blind box has a "vernal equinox blessing" written by the driver himself, and the greetings are different. Some passengers drew kites, others drew pictures of eggs and bullfights.
In the field of consumption, "blind box wind" is not uncommon. Fresh blind box, beauty blind box, stationery blind box, air ticket blind box, archaeological blind box ... It is no exaggeration to say that the concept of blind box has almost become the "standard" of all TOC, and there are blind boxes where there are people.
There is a more intuitive description of the popularity of blind boxes: blind boxes have also been selected as "Top Ten Commodities in 2020" released by Taobao. You know, masks, Regan noodles and Altman were also selected.
Yu Yue, head of Huachuang Capital Consumption, believes that the blind box is favored by consumers because it meets the needs of young people to "buy happiness at a small price". "Blind boxes add some freshness and excitement to simple consumer goods, and there will be uncertainty in the lottery. At the same time, blind boxes have the characteristics of collectibles, which consumers can collect and even trade. This is in line with the current consumption logic. "
It should be noted that not all goods can be put on the "blind box" sales express. For example, some second-hand platforms even sell live "pet blind boxes".
Zheng Tu, the founding partner of Bee Bridge Capital, reminded that as a new marketing method, blind box has been adopted by more and more enterprises, and the excitement and surprise brought by uncertainty have touched some consumers. But the blind box itself is not everything. In the long run, it is still necessary to return to the attractiveness of products in blind boxes to consumers.
"Recently, most of the products packaged in blind boxes on the market are short-term and follow the trend, which is out of the essence of consumer demand." Zheng Tu said.
The half-year valuation tripled, and capital began to pay for the story of the blind box?
POP MART is the creator of the "blind box hurricane" in the venture capital circle.
On February, 65438+2020 1 1 day, POP MART landed in Hong Kong stocks, and the first day of trading reached HK$ 1000 billion. After that, it fell back, but it soon returned to the market value of 100 billion. With a small "blind box" doll, POP MART has become the largest and fastest-growing trend toy company in China.
According to the prospectus, POP MART's net profit has increased by 300 times in just three years. Soon, capital began to dry up.
Tao Qing, the entrepreneur of Fashion Toy Company, told China Investment Network about his "roller coaster" financing process in recent years. "From 20 16 to 20 18, we had frequent contact with capital and hoped to obtain financing, but at that time, 95% of investors could not understand what we were doing." Tao Qing said, "Even if we complete BP, they are still confused and even think that our model is unreasonable."
However, after the news that POP MART submitted its listing application came out, the attitude of capital towards "blind box enterprises" took a 180 degree turn.
"Since the summer of 2020, I have received a significant increase in investor calls." Tao Qing told China Investment Network, "Since 20021,I have basically met several employers every week to prepare for the next round of financing, and my valuation has probably tripled."
Not only has the enthusiasm become higher, "capital has a higher acceptance of our story and can basically understand our business model." Tao Qing mentioned, "In this way, POP MART not only educated the market, but also educated investors to some extent."
"The blind box economy is not a market subsidized by discounts. There is no gap between the expectations and reality of many products in online celebrities. This is the early appearance of a big track. " Liu Bo, a partner of Liu Qing Capital, mentioned that in the early days, some investors misunderstood the blind box track and thought it was a market supported by one or two IPs. But at present, many investors have reached a basic understanding: blind box is a successful commercialization medium for the overall IP market to fall from two-dimensional to three-dimensional.
As Yu Yue saw, the "blind box" is actually a typical consumer goods business with a high ceiling.
Yu Yue said to China Investment Network that, first of all, there is no frame of reference for the pricing of blind box products. "Because it is not a ready-made consumer product: 10 yuan is fine, and 100 yuan is fine, so there is a lot of bargaining space in the middle. Enterprises have pricing power, which is rare in consumer goods enterprises. "
Secondly, blind boxes have natural communication properties, and enterprises do not need to spend too much marketing costs. Finally, the blind box products are humanized and the repurchase rate can be guaranteed.
"With high pricing power, high gross profit margin and high repurchase rate, such products will naturally be sought after by capital." Yu Yue said, "Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the popularity of the POP MART model."
However, this does not mean that capital is not controversial about the "blind box economy".
"Capital's pursuit of the' blind box economy' is irrational." Zheng Tu told China Investment Network that "an emerging industry will inevitably go through the process of bubble and defoaming from birth to rapid development and then return to benign development."
Enterprises get together to recreate "the next POP MART"?
Wang Ning, chairman of POP MART, once said that blind box is indeed a very important product form, and POP MART has caught fire in China. But it is biased to say that POP MART is a blind box company.
"POP MART is essentially an intellectual property operation company with Wan Chao as the carrier," concluded Wang Ning.
From this point of view, this business model is not crude, and it is gradually accepted by the capital market: So, with the help of VC/PE, will the next POP MART appear?
"When we invested in 52Toys on 20 19, we firmly believed that the success of POP MART was only the tip of the iceberg, and the trend of the adult toy industry was clear, and the blind box was only the first product form." Liu Bo told China Investment Network.
Liu Bo believes that more toy forms will stand out in the market in the future, because the structure of the upstream and downstream layout of the overall tide play industry has been set up: both the upstream manufacturing, downstream retail channels and talent pool of the overall toys have formed a climate.
However, what will stand out in the future market will not be the next POP MART, but another representative with other characteristics in the field of tide play.
"In the final analysis, the popularity of POP MART belongs to a specific cultural phenomenon. The success of this enterprise does have some chance. After all, IP products are not just needed, and the market is also in the process of education and popularization. " Yu Yue said.
"It is difficult to replicate POP MART in the field of Chaozhou Opera," Zheng Tu told China Investment Network. "The absolute leader represents greater market, brand and resource adsorption capacity, and POP MART has established a multi-layer moat. At present, what POP MART wants to do is 2-3 stages ahead of most followers or many micro-innovators in this field. "
In fact, "at present, there are some popular elements behind such IP products, which seem to be hot, but they are uncontrollable." Therefore, Yu Yue said, "It is not so easy for such an enterprise to' re-engrave'. Even with the help of capital, without the real love and recognition of the public, enterprises cannot survive for a long time. "
(At the request of the interviewee, Tao Qing is a pseudonym in the text.)