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Pop Mart has struck it rich. The Chinese company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers said this week that it expects its profit for the first six months of this year to jump by at least 350% compared with the prior-year period, largely because of its smash hit plush toy, the Labubu. Pop Mart joins a small list of companies that have tapped into the zeitgeist, drawing in millions of buyers who, for one reason or another, simply must get their hands on a toy or gadget of the moment. But what makes the Labubu a must-haveor any toy for that matteris a decades-old question that toymakers have yet to figure out. Here’s a look at some of the most popular toys over the years. Cabbage Patch Kids Cabbage Patch Kids began as chubby-faced dolls with yarn hair that came with adoption papers. During the 1980s, the dolls were so popular that parents waited in long lines at stores while trying to get ahold of them. More than 90 million Cabbage Patch Kids were sold worldwide during their heyday. Cabbage Patch Kids were created by Xavier Roberts and initially sold by Coleco. They were relaunched in 2004 amid the successful return of other popular 1980s toys including Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. A Cabbage Patch Kid museum named BabyLand General Hospital still exists in Cleveland, Georgia. The dolls were inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2023. Beanie Baby Beanie Babies captivated consumers in the mid-1990s. The cuddly $5 toys were under-stuffed for maximum hug-ability, stamped with cute names on their Ty Inc. tags, and given limited edition runs. Many people collected, traded, and sold the toys with the hopes that their value would just keep going up at the dawn of the e-commerce age. It made some people money, and the founder, Ty Warner, a billionaire in three years. In 2014, Warner learned that he would not go to prison for hiding at least $25 million from U.S. tax authorities and instead received two years’ probation. Warner, one of the highest-profile figures snared in a federal investigation of Americans using Swiss bank accounts to avoid U.S. taxes, had pleaded guilty to a single count of tax evasion. Tamagotchi Looking for a pet without the real-life responsibilities? Well then, the Tamagotchi electronic pet from Bandai was for you. Consumers were hooked on the egg-shaped plastic toy that first launched in Japan in 1996 and became a craze worldwide in the late 1990s and 2000s. Users were tasked with taking care of their virtual pet by pressing buttons that simulate feeding, disciplining, and playing with the critter on-screen. If a Tamagotchi is neglected, it dies. In 2013, Tamagotchi was reborn as a mobile app, duplicating the experience of the plastic handheld toy. The toy was inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame in May. Fidget Spinner Fidget spinnersthe 3-inch twirling gadgets that took over classrooms and cubicleswere all the rage in 2017. The toy was considered somewhat of an outlier at the time, given that it wasn’t made by a major company, timed for the holiday season, or promoted in TV commercials. Fidget spinners were more easily found at gas stations or 7-Elevens than at big toy chains. Fidget spinners had been around for years, mostly used by kids with autism or attention disorders to help them concentrate, but they became more popular after being featured on social media. While hot toys are often made by one company, fidget spinners were made by numerous manufacturers, mostly in China. The toys were marketed as a concentration aid, but they became so popular among children that many schools started banning them, saying that they were a distraction. Labubu The Labubu, by artist and illustrator Kasing Lung, first appeared as monsters with pointed ears and pointy teeth in three picture books inspired by Nordic mythology in 2015. In 2019, Lung struck a deal with Pop Mart, a company that caters to toy connoisseurs and influencers, to sell Labubu figurines. But it wasnt until Pop Mart started selling Labubu plush toys on key rings in 2023 that the toothy monsters suddenly seemed to be everywhere, including in the hands of Rihanna, Kim Kardashian, and NBA star Dillon Brooks. K-pop singer Lisa of Blackpink began posting images of hers for her more than 100 million followers on Instagram and TikTok, where Labubu pandemonium has broken out. Labubu has been a bonanza for Pop Mart. Its revenue more than doubled in 2024, to 13.04 billion yuan ($1.81 billion), thanks in part to its elvish monster. Revenue from Pop Marts plush toys soared more than 1,200% in 2024, nearly 22% of its overall revenue, according to the companys annual report. By Michelle Chapman, Associated Press business writer
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E-Commerce
Its never a good time to lose a flight, get one cancelled, or loiter aimlessly at the airport due to delaysexcept maybe this week. Tucked inside John F. Kennedy Airport’s iconic TWA Hotel, which boasts a retro aesthetic reminiscent of the golden age of air travel, a temporary lounge by Cayman Jack is set up. The catch? Only unlucky passengers experiencing travel disruptions are allowed in. Its no surprise that flight disruptions are becoming increasingly common in U.S. travel. Almost 1 in 4 passengers experience a flight delay or a cancellation within American airports, totaling in 236 million people affected. Disturbances can oftentimes affect just a few flights, but sometimes its widespread. Last year, the CrowdStrike IT outage led to nationwide disruptions, and earlier this year, a 90-second loss of communication from tower control at Newark led to a series of local cancellations. “Weve all experienced these moments first-hand and wanted to make lifes most unexpected detours an opportunity to flip vacation mode,” Stately Jukes, Director of Brand Commercialization for Cayman Jack told Fast Company. [Image: Cayman Jack] Open July 17 and 18, the Cayman Club operates as a “missed-flight lounge,” offering visitors above 21 years old ice-cold Cayman Jack Margaritas, bites curated by Chef Aarón Sanchez, and complimentary massages. “We wanted to flip the script on the traditional lounge experience,” Juke says. “Forget elite status and instead make the lounge something to reward people who are in need of a little levity in their travels.” [Image: Cayman Jack] For those struggling with summer travel outside of JFK, Cayman Jack is extending online opportunities to passengers nationwide through Sept. 1. On their website, travelers are able to upload their travel mishaps for the chance to earn anything from a cold margarita, to gift cards and spa services. “You know how some of the best vacation memories come from unplanned moments?,” Juke added. “When plans go sideways, everyone deserves to enjoy a margarita.”
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E-Commerce
Socially anxious Gen Zers, rejoice: Googles new AI search feature will make phone calls so you dont have to. The feature, which launches today, is designed to help users check current pricing and availability for services at local businesses through an AI-powered calling function. According to a Google spokesperson, its an example of how agentic AIor a model capable of thinking, planning, and acting autonomously in real timecan help make everyday tasks easier by acting on behalf of a user. [Image: Google] While the spokesperson says that the tool was made for all users, the Google team thinks it might be particularly helpful for Gen Zers, who tend to be more reticent to make phone calls than other generations. A 2024 study by the company Uswitch showed that a quarter of 18- to 34-year-olds never answer the phone at all. The phenomenon even has a name: telephobia. According to a May survey by Google, users aged 1824 already show higher engagement than other generations when they use Google’s existing AI Overviews tool in search. Now, Google is hoping that agentic AI might also help young users tackle certain quotidian tasks without ever picking up the phone. An AI bot for appointments and inquiries To use the new tool, users simply need to search a query related to local small businesses, like, nail salons near me or local dog groomers. These types of requests will yield a prompt that says, Have AI check pricing directly beneath the map of suggested businesses. If a user clicks that prompt, theyll be taken through a short questionnaire related to their needsin the dog groomer example, that might mean follow-ups like, what kind of dog do you have? or what service do you need? Using those responses, an AI will then make calls to several of the top suggested businesses based on Google reviews, and return to the user with an email or text of each pet groomers response. While this questionnaire step does take some extra time, the spokesperson notes that it saves the user from needing to make all of the calls themselves, and the whole process should take 30 minutes or less. On the business end, the tool sets a daily limit of how many times one business can be contacted within a day, as well as providing each business an opportunity to opt out of the calls if they choose. Currently, Google’s AI-powered calling feature is available for a select group of local business categories, including beauty and wellness, auto maintenance, pet services, and professional services. In the future, though, the Google spokesperson says theres plenty of room to expand this option to additional domains. Its essentially outsourcing the drudgery (and, for some Gen Zers, anxiety) of making a new appointment to your own personal assistant.
Category:
E-Commerce
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