After declining for several months and hitting a low point in January, Pop Mart's stock has rebounded by 38% as of February 13th, with its price rising approximately 30% in 2026 alone. Funds that increased their holdings against the trend in the fourth quarter of last year would have benefited significantly if they held through the period. Similar to Pop Mart, several new consumer stocks have stabilized and begun to recover. Multiple fund managers stated that overseas expansion has evolved from individual company experiments into a systemic trend, becoming a critical pathway for Chinese consumer companies to break through domestic demand bottlenecks. Companies that can continuously enhance their added value, brand power, and global competitiveness are increasingly worthy of attention.
As a representative of the "new consumer" concept, Pop Mart's stock price reached a historical high last August before halting its upward trajectory. It touched a low of HKD 174 per share on January 19th, representing an overall pullback of over 46%. During this period, mainland public funds consistently reduced their holdings of the stock. According to Wind data, public funds' holdings of Pop Mart decreased from 46.3461 million shares at the end of the third quarter of 2025 to 37.587 million shares by the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. The number of funds with significant positions in Pop Mart dropped sharply from 180 at the end of Q3 2025 to 123 by the end of Q4 2025. Funds such as E Fund Hong Kong Stock Connect Quality Growth and Southern China Driving Force not only reduced their holdings but also removed the stock from their list of major holdings.
However, during the stock's decline, some funds chose to increase their holdings substantially. For instance, Ruiyuan Hong Kong Stock Connect Core Value significantly added 2.45 million shares of Pop Mart in the fourth quarter. Other funds, including Invesco Great Wall Stable Growth, Bank of Communications Industrial Selection, and Yinhua Digital Economy, also increased their holdings by several hundred thousand shares. These funds that bought against the trend would have reaped substantial gains recently if they did not reduce their positions after the new year. Since hitting its low in mid-January, Pop Mart's stock has surged over 38% by February 13th, with a rise of about 30% just within 2026.
Recently, Pop Mart announced its full-year 2025 core sales data, revealing that global sales of its full IP, full-category products exceeded 400 million units. Among these, global sales of THE MONSTERS full-category products surpassed 100 million units. Pop Mart founder Wang Ning stated that in 2025, the company had over 10,000 global employees, more than 100 million registered members, annual LABUBU sales exceeding 100 million units, and full-category, full-IP product sales over 400 million units. The company's business now covers more than 100 countries and regions, with over 700 global stores.
The recovery momentum in the new consumer sector is becoming evident. Although Pop Mart had not stopped declining by the end of last year, a fund manager from East China noted in their Q4 report that new consumer industry players are expected to evolve from潮玩 companies into IP ecosystem operators. Through diversified IP development, deeper penetration of overseas markets, and broadening product lines, they can build more robust growth models, potentially entering a new phase of scaled profitability and structural growth in 2026. Realizing this outlook still depends on a steady recovery in the macro consumer environment, rational evolution of industry competition, and effective execution of company strategies. Overall, sectors like new consumption are expected to gradually release their long-term value over the next two years.
Beyond Pop Mart, several stocks within the Hang Seng Consumer Index have also shown improvement this year. Companies like Luk Fook Holdings and Hong Kong Technology Venture Co. Ltd have seen gains exceeding 30%, while Lao Feng Xiang, Gu Ming, Chow Tai Fook, and Weilong Delicious have also achieved double-digit increases. At the policy level, "expanding domestic demand and boosting consumption" has become a main theme of 2026 macro policy. From the Central Economic Work Conference prioritizing "adhering to domestic demand-led growth" to the National Financial Work Conference deploying measures to "vigorously stimulate consumption," along with the swift allocation of 62.5 billion yuan for consumer goods trade-in programs and the Ministry of Commerce's recent announcement to deeply implement special actions to boost consumption in 2026, a series of policy measures have been intensively rolled out, injecting strong momentum into the consumption recovery.
Fullgoal Fund believes the probability of consumption receiving stronger policy support has increased. The essential consumer sector currently shows defensive value, with valuations at relatively low levels. As policies are implemented and consumer confidence recovers, the essential consumer sector possesses significant potential for valuation repair and earnings growth. For the discretionary consumer sector, attention can be paid to restorative opportunities arising from potential stimulus policies.
Zhou Han of China Universal Fund noted that as the post-90s and post-00s generations gradually become the main consumer force, their upbringing, values, and consumption habits differ markedly from previous generations. They place greater emphasis on personalized expression, emotional value, life rituals, and social attributes. This shift has spawned numerous emerging consumer demands. These new demands have not only altered the consumer landscape but also propelled the birth and rise of a batch of 'new consumer brands.' These brands often possess agile product iteration capabilities, strong content operation skills, and precise user insight, leveraging social media for low-cost, high-efficiency brand launches. These companies may not be large in scale, but their business models are more flexible and better adapted to rapidly changing consumption trends. Their existence proves that even against a backdrop of slowing overall consumption growth, structural opportunities continue to thrive.
Notably, based on disclosed 2025 Q4 fund reports and related statements, fund companies have reached a high consensus on "overseas expansion opportunities" for 2026, viewing it as a core investment direction comparable to the AI technology theme. This wave of overseas expansion is no longer simple commodity export but is defined as a deeper industrial trend and a restructuring of global competitiveness. A fund manager heavily invested in consumer stocks mentioned that within the consumption structure, domestic commodity consumption volume is strong, but prices are low. Comparing companies expanding overseas shows that the same products often sell for much higher prices in markets like the US.
Jia Yanan of Caitong Fund believes that as the domestic economy enters a stage of high-quality development, tapping into overseas incremental markets has become crucial for many consumer goods companies to maintain growth. Unlike the past emphasis on labor-intensive industry exports, companies that can continuously enhance added value, brand power, and global competitiveness are now more worthy of attention. Jia Yanan stated that for some new consumer companies, three aspects of overseas expansion capability need focused examination. First is production capacity出海 capability: in the context of complex international changes, companies with strong international production capabilities and localized overseas supply chains often hold greater competitive advantages. Second is technology and brand出海 capability: companies are gradually shifting lower value-added production segments outward, focusing more on higher value-added R&D, design, brand operation, and sales. Finally, cultural出海 capability: products and services that facilitate the export of cultural soft power, such as high-quality content in潮玩 IP, gaming, and short dramas.
Zhou Han believes that overseas consumers are beginning to move beyond the stereotype of "low-price OEM" and are starting to recognize the genuine value of Chinese brands in product design, user experience, and technological innovation. The reputation of Chinese brands is steadily improving globally, which not only drives revenue growth but also builds long-term brand moats. Overseas expansion has evolved from attempts by individual companies into a systemic trend, becoming a key path for Chinese consumer enterprises to break through domestic demand bottlenecks.