Here’s what you need to know about Wang Ning and how he started the now-famous toy company Pop Mart that’s worth billions of dollars.
It’s an unlikely story: a millennial decides opening a toy store, of all things, was the best course of action to be a billionaire—and he actually succeeds. Pop Mart was barely a blip on anyone’s radar a few years ago. Now, long queues herald its arrival in countries, its toys are a viral craze, and the company is estimated to be worth USD 40 billion.
How did it all start? The now-juggernaut of a company was the brainchild of a fresh grad who decided to make his inspiration into reality. Meet Pop Mart founder Wang Ning who’s also named the 10th richest man in China.
What you need to know about Pop Mart founder and CEO Wang Ning
A native of Henan, China, Wang Ning was born in 1987. He studied advertising and graduated in 2009 from Zhengzhou University. He then went on to work for Sina Corporation, which owns the famous microblogging site in China, Weibo. After working there for a year, Wang decided to strike out on his own.
While on a trip to Hong Kong, Wang discovered stores selling trending products and realised that there was no store like that in China. He took it upon himself to open the first store of its kind there. Thus, Pop Mart was born in 2010, opening its first store in the famous technology hub Zhongguancun in the Haidan District of Beijing. Because he faced so many problems in running the store, Wang went back to school and enrolled in the Guanghua School of Management in Peking University in 2014.
It was around that time that Wang also focused on just selling toys. He also decided to sell them in blind boxes, which meant customers won’t know what figurine they’ll be getting when buying one. It was a risky move yet one that has driven Pop Mart’s success and is the signature feature of what they sell to this day.
Wang also began approaching artists for collaborations. One of the earliest artists he approached was Hong Kong’s Kenny Wong. Molly, the wide-eyed cute figurine, was the result of the collaboration, as well as a tremendous increase in sales that added up to USD 73 million in 2018.
By 2020, Pop Mart went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Now, Pop Mart is estimated to be worth a whopping USD 40 billion with stores all across Asia, Oceania, and Europe. As for Wang, his own net worth is estimated to be around USD 20 billion, a far cry from when he started Pop Mart 15 years ago.
The company shows no signs of stopping. Especially with viral toy sensations like the iconic Labubu, people are still willing to endure long queues to get their hands on figurines. Wang has also recently been named that 10th richest man in China. Wang and Pop Mart are only going up from here.
(Main and featured images: Pop Mart)
This story first appeared here.