Chinese toy maker Pop Mart International Group sold out its new palm-sized Labubu dolls within minutes across major online platforms and brick-and-mortar outlets from Beijing to New York. Roughly 300,000 units of the 79-yuan (about USD11) plush pendants disappeared in two minutes during a livestreamed launch on Alibaba’s Tmall, generating CNY23.7 million (USD3.3 million) in sales. The company said follow-on releases in the United States, Japan and South Korea, priced at USD22.99, met the same instant-sell-out fate, briefly freezing its WeChat store. The frenzy extends a multiyear run for Pop Mart’s blind-box business model, which encourages repeat purchases to secure rare variations. While analysts cite echoes of the 1990s Beanie Babies boom, demand for Labubu and related characters has translated into blockbuster results: first-half revenue jumped 204% year-on-year to 13.9 billion yuan, with profit up 397% to 4.6 billion yuan. Sales in the Americas surged more than 1,000% to 2.3 billion yuan, making the region the company’s fastest-growing market. Investors have followed consumers’ enthusiasm. Pop Mart’s Hong Kong–listed shares have risen over 250% since January, lifting its market capitalization to about HKD435.7 billion (USD56 billion). The rally has propelled 38-year-old founder and chief executive Wang Ning’s fortune to an estimated USD27.5 billion, overtaking Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma on Forbes’ real-time rich list. Pop Mart plans further international roll-outs, including a long-fur Labubu priced at USD114.99, but some market watchers caution that scarcity-driven collectibles can lose momentum as supply expands. For now, the company is capitalizing on the blind-box craze that has made its toothy, rabbit-eared mascot one of the most coveted accessories in youth culture from Kuala Lumpur to Manhattan.