Toy makers rush into ‘blind box’ trend for holidays following Labubu craze
玩具制造商紧跟拉布布热潮 抢滩假日盲盒市场
NEW YORK, Nov 14 (Reuters) – While U.S. consumers keep searching for an authentic Pop Mart (9992.HK), opens new tab Labubu, rivals are introducing their own cheaper, easier-to-find “blind box” products for the key holiday shopping season to capitalize on the craze sparked by the fuzzy mini monsters.
路透纽约 11 月 14 日电 – 在美国消费者持续搜寻正版泡泡玛特(9992.HK)Labubu 玩偶之际，竞争对手们正为关键假日购物季推出价格更低、更易获取的自有”盲盒”产品，以期从这些毛绒迷你怪兽掀起的狂热中获利。
Hot gift lists from retailers like Walmart (WMT.N), opens new tab feature a new crop of blind box figurines and trading cards, and U.S. companies including Hasbro (HAS.O), opens new tab and Mattel (MAT.O), opens new tab are selling versions of toys like Furby and Barbie in mystery packaging, incorporating the trend.
沃尔玛(WMT.N)等零售商的热门礼品清单上涌现出一批新的盲盒手办和集换式卡牌，包括孩之宝(HAS.O)和美泰(MAT.O)在内的美国公司也顺应这一趋势，推出了菲比精灵和芭比娃娃等玩具的神秘包装版本。
A blind box toy – like Spin Master’s (TOY.TO), opens new tab popular CrystaLynx dragons – generally has packaging that hides the specific product inside so shoppers keep buying until they find the one they want or collect the whole series.
盲盒玩具——如斯平玛斯特(TOY.TO)热门的 CrystaLynx 龙系列——通常采用隐藏内部具体产品的包装方式，促使消费者持续购买直至找到心仪款式或集齐全系列。
Labubus stoked excitement for the trend this summer, spiking in popularity as retailers finalized their holiday plans. The “ugly-cute” dolls with toothy grins aren’t widely available. They sell out in minutes and later turn up on resale sites like eBay for hundreds or thousands of dollars. Because of their cost and scarcity, they aren’t on top toy lists published by major retailers and trade magazines.
今年夏天，Labubu 盲盒掀起的狂热风潮令零售商们在制定假日计划时兴奋不已。这些咧着大嘴的”丑萌”玩偶并非随处可得，往往上架数分钟便售罄，随后在 eBay 等二手交易平台以数百甚至数千美元的价格转售。由于价格高昂且数量稀缺，它们并未出现在大型零售商和行业杂志发布的顶级玩具榜单上。
But now toy aisles in holiday shopping destinations like Target (TGT.N), opens new tab are crammed with goods wrapped in mystery packaging. Retailers, manufacturers and analysts expect they will be big sellers this holiday season because they’re low-cost, inspire addictive shopping and appeal to adults and kids.
而如今，在塔吉特(TGT.N)等假日购物目的地的玩具货架上，神秘包装的商品已堆积如山。零售商、制造商与分析人士普遍预期，这类商品因价格亲民、能激发成瘾性消费、且同时吸引成年人与儿童，将成为今年假日季的销售爆款。
A Target spokesperson said the retailer doubled its assortment of blind box products for the holidays, adding items from brands including Baby Three, MGA Entertainment’s Miniverse, Zuru’s Minibrands and Aphmau.
Target 发言人表示，该零售商为假日季准备的盲盒产品种类翻倍，新增了包括 Baby Three、MGA Entertainment 的 Miniverse、Zuru 的 Minibrands 以及 Aphmau 等品牌的商品。
“It’s bigger this year, and it’s been getting bigger,” said Juli Lennett, U.S. toy industry advisor at market research provider Circana.
市场研究机构 Circana 的美国玩具行业顾问朱莉·莱内特表示：”今年规模更大，而且一直在持续扩大。”
Lennett added that toy makers love it because when “people buy it, they don’t buy one, they buy 10, and 30. There’s the chase,” she said.
莱内特补充说，玩具制造商对此青睐有加，因为”人们购买时不会只买一个，而是会买 10 个、30 个。这里面有着追逐的乐趣。”
Toy prices have been going up month by month, Lennett said, in part because of tariffs on China, where many of the goods are made.
莱内特指出，玩具价格逐月上涨，部分原因是对主要生产地中国征收的关税所致。
But many blind box toys remain affordable, adding to their appeal as stocking stuffers or gifts.
但许多盲盒玩具仍保持亲民价格，这增强了它们作为圣诞袜填充物或礼品的吸引力。
Ashley Harseim, 29, of New York, is asking for a gift card to blind box retailer Miniso for the holidays. The China-based chain, which has more than 200 U.S. stores, offers figurines with characters from Peanuts, Care Bears and Disney Pixar, among others, in mystery packaging.
纽约 29 岁的阿什莉·哈塞姆今年节日季最想要的礼物是盲盒零售商名创优品的购物卡。这家拥有 200 多家美国门店的中国连锁企业推出了史努比、爱心熊和迪士尼皮克斯等系列角色玩偶，均采用神秘包装。
“The surprise is cool, it’s a nice little dopamine boost and who doesn’t need that now?” she said.
“开盲盒的惊喜感很酷，能带来小小的多巴胺刺激，现在谁不需要这样的快乐呢？”她说道。
To treat herself, she added, she purchases blind boxes with cats inside that cost between $6 and $10. She puts them on a shelf at home.
为犒劳自己，她还会购买内含猫咪玩偶的盲盒，单价在 6 至 10 美元之间。这些玩偶都被她陈列在家中的架子上。
“I look at my phone, I look at the news and then I look at my little cat, and I’m like ‘aw,'” she said.
“当我看着手机，刷着新闻，再瞧瞧这些小猫咪时，就会忍不住发出’哇’的感叹，”她笑着说。
Collectibles overall, including trading cards like Pokemon, drove growth in toys in the first nine months of this year after the sector stagnated the past two, according to Circana. Circana’s data, which mainly covers major retailers, does not include sales of Labubus.
市场研究机构 Circana 数据显示，在经历过去两年停滞期后，包括宝可梦等集换式卡牌在内的收藏品类别在今年前九个月推动了玩具行业增长。不过 Circana 主要追踪大型零售商数据，其统计未包含拉布布盲盒的销售额。
But despite their popularity, the blind box toys may have a limited impact on driving overall holiday spending. Manufacturers previously marketed them year round as trinkets and impulse buys, meaning holiday sales were less important to their overall annual revenue. The last three months of the year otherwise make up 40% of the toy industry’s sales, Lennett said.
尽管盲盒玩具颇受欢迎，但对整体节日消费的拉动作用可能有限。制造商此前全年都将它们作为小饰品和冲动消费品进行营销，这意味着节日销售对其全年总收入的贡献相对较小。莱内特指出，往年最后三个月原本占玩具行业销售额的 40%。
Circana anticipates that a measure of sales volume for toys may fall by as much as 2.5% during the peak shopping months of November and December.
Circana 预计，在 11 月和 12 月的购物高峰期，玩具销量指标可能下降高达 2.5%。
Still, this holiday is set to be significant for specialty retailers like Miniso, rival Ohku, and Canada-based Showcase, which sells authentic Labubus, and is expanding in malls and other strip centers across the country.
不过，这个假期对于名创优品、竞争对手泡泡玛特以及加拿大品牌 Showcase 等特色零售商来说意义重大。Showcase 正在全美购物中心和其他商业区扩张，销售正版 Labubu 盲盒。
Ohku introduced a new blind box series for the holidays, a spokesperson said, and is planning for its products to soon be available on Amazon.com (AMZN.O), opens new tab.
泡泡玛特发言人表示，公司为假日季推出了全新盲盒系列，并计划让产品尽快登陆亚马逊平台(AMZN.O)。
Showcase, which has 41 U.S. locations, has blind boxes from Sonny Angel, a competitor to Labubu, scheduled to arrive in its stores by December, said CEO Samir Kulkarni.
拥有 41 家美国门店的 Showcase 公司首席执行官 Samir Kulkarni 表示，Labubu 的竞争对手 Sonny Angel 盲盒产品将于 12 月前在其门店上架。
“Blind boxes are going to be very big,” he said. “It’s certainly going to be the biggest category for us in toys and collectibles that we sell.
“盲盒市场潜力巨大，”他表示，”这无疑将成为我们玩具和收藏品业务中最重要的品类。
“Last year it was a small fraction of the sales. This Christmas will be a record Christmas for that reason,” Kulkarni added.
“去年这类产品仅占销售额的很小一部分。正因如此，今年圣诞节将创下销售纪录，”Kulkarni 补充道。