Toy play Pop Mart closer to HK float

China's pop-culture-driven toy retailer Pop Mart International Group passed a Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing hearing on Sunday, more than five months after submitting its prospectus.

Pop Mart, which sells blind-box toys via vending machines as well as pop toys, made the announcement in a bourse filing.

Pop toys are collectibles licensed as vinyl figurines and bobblehead dolls.

The company said it is seeking an initial public offering to raise $200 million to $300 million.

The intellectual property-driven company has developed a retail platform and operated some 114 retail stores in 33 cities and 825 roboshops－or vending machines－in 57 cities in China as of the end of last year.

Pop Mart also owns fast-growing online channels including its Tmall flagship store and the Pop Draw mini program.

In terms of its wholesale operations, Pop Mart has 22 distributors in China and 19 in 21 overseas markets, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore and the United States.

The company has completed eight rounds of pre-IPO fundraising, receiving 958 million yuan ($146 million) from institutional investors, including Sequoia Capital China, which holds a 4.96 percent stake.

Pop Mart's revenue rose from 158.1 million yuan in 2017 to 1.68 billion yuan in 2019, with net profit growing from 1.6 million yuan to 451.1 million yuan during the period.

In the first three quarters of this year, Pop Mart's revenue surged 49.3 percent year-on-year to 1.54 billion yuan, despite its business being affected by COVID-19.

It is not the first time that Pop Mart pursued a public listing. In January 2017, the company debuted on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations－China's over-the-counter market－but later retreated.

China's pop toy retailing market is still at an early stage and has witnessed rapid growth in the past few years, said a Frost & Sullivan report in December.

The pop toy retail market value in China increased from 6.3 billion yuan in 2015 to 20.7 billion yuan in 2019, representing a compound annual growth rate of 34.6 percent, and is forecast to reach 76.3 billion yuan in 2024.

Pop Mart said it is the largest pop toy brand in China in terms of retail value in 2019 with a market share of 8.5 percent, outpacing all other major players, including Lego and Line Friends.

This year, online shopping has become increasingly significant for Pop Mart.

During Tmall's 2020 Singles Day shopping festival, Pop Mart ranked first among flagship stores of toy brands on Tmall in terms of retail value, achieving revenue of 142 million yuan, up from 82.12 million yuan of the prior year.

Jason Yu, general manager of Kantar Worldpanel China, said there are many good practices of building a business model relying on unique IP globally. Pop Mart stands out in China by cashing in on the country's rapidly developing mobile social environment and the "lonely economy".

The company's business is strongly driven by its IP. Pop Mart operates 81 IPs, including 12 proprietary IPs. It also concentrates on its revenue from its iconic IPs.

Pop Mart's affordable price is friendly for collectors and its blind-box model meets consumer demand for social sharing, Yu said.

"Molly, as a major IP, has an even broader potential in the future," Yu said. "However, just as Disney doesn't depend on a single IP, it requires a matrix of IPs for Pop Mart to nurture more sustainable growth for its brands," he said.