The "merch economy" has quietly broken through subcultural circles and entered the mainstream consumer view. This year, People's Daily described it with the phrase "injecting dynamic energy into economic development," setting the tone for this burgeoning consumer phenomenon—it is no longer just a niche hobby for young people but a new economic sector forming a clear industrial structure. This not only reflects official media's acute capture of youth consumption culture but also signifies that "merch" consumption, represented by collectible cards and figurines, is shifting from emotion-driven to industry-driven, becoming an undeniable force within the cultural and creative economy. Little known is that beneath this seemingly lively new landscape, different business paths are continuously diverging; they not only concern corporate survival logic but will profoundly influence the entire industry's evolutionary direction. Systematic cultivators represented by KAYOU and global expanders represented by POP MART are jointly shaping the new ecosystem of China's cultural and creative industry—a future rooted in emotion yet facing the market.
Recent coverage by People's Daily has repeatedly focused on the "merch economy," astutely identifying its core essence in an article: emotional value, social attributes, social currency, and community identity. These keywords accurately reveal that merch is not merely objects but carriers for young people's emotional projection, identity formation, and social connection, providing a cultural-psychological foundation for understanding its economic phenomenon. Furthermore, People's Daily delved into the industrial frontlines, reporting from KAYOU's campus in Shanghai's Suhewan area, depicting a scene where post-00s product planners discuss designs for new collectible card series in a space renovated from century-old industrial heritage. Through restorative preservation and functional reinvention, the Jing'an District has transformed sites like the former Fuxin Flour Mill into cultural and creative spaces, creating a cultural ecology that attracts numerous firms like KAYOU. The report highlighted that the Suhewan functional area has cumulatively generated 35 billion yuan in tax revenue since the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, with double-digit growth for three consecutive years, tangibly evidencing the economic pull of the cultural and creative industry.
From an industry positioning perspective, "merch" has upgraded from a youth subcultural consumption to an industrial role that "injects active energy into economic development." This shift reflects policy-level recognition and expectation for emerging cultural and creative formats. For instance, derivative development for mainstream IPs like "The Wandering Earth" and "The Age of Awakening" is in full swing, while IPs like "Love and Deep Space" and "Black Myth: Wukong" successfully carry the momentum. The robust trend of integration with mainstream culture is shown through increasingly normalized cross-industry collaborations with food, beverages, cosmetics, and apparel, continuously broadening industrial boundaries. This fusion is not only evident in content but also penetrates various segments of the industrial chain: from IP licensing and product design to manufacturing and channel sales, forming a complete industrial closed loop. Traditional manufacturers and retailers are frequently transforming towards "merch," and local governments are incorporating cultural derivative industries into regional economic development plans, providing policy support and resource倾斜.
Behind the phenomenon's prosperity lies the evolution of the internal logic of "merch" consumption—it is transitioning from the initial stage of "fan economy," reliant on single hit products and random热度, to a new stage of "industrial economy" underpinned by systematic operations and a sustainable ecosystem. This industrial logic stems from the maturity of three elements: emotional IPs providing a value core, an industrialized and systematic product system, and active communities. The three drive each other, transforming random and emotional consumption behaviors into sustainable, predictable industrial activities. Ultimately, high-quality IPs attract users to form communities, community feedback drives product iteration and innovation, and systematic product supply further consolidates IP value and community activity, propelling the "merch economy" from an enthusiast culture to a mature industry.
Within the evolutionary map of the "merch economy," domestic leading companies have already outlined different development logics. Among various categories, collectible cards exhibit a particularly clear industrial path due to their inherent collection, competitive, and social attributes. KAYOU's systematic cultivation is quite prominent; its development trajectory mirrors the aforementioned Jing'an District report. Its rapid growth stems from a unique IP strategy, collaborating with over 70 well-known domestic and international IPs like "My Little Pony," "Ultraman," and "Harry Potter," and "re-creating" IP connotations through unique card narratives and skill systems to deepen emotional connections. This dual-drive strategy, combining local IP innovation with international IP cooperation, is both rooted in Chinese cultural soil and possesses a global vision.
In terms of product system, KAYOU has built a multi-tiered product matrix ranging from普及版to典藏版, establishing relatively strict工艺standards and a节奏化的release system. This product system transforms creativity into stable, predictable supply, embodying core industrial capabilities. Through serialized card sets, rarity grading, and version iterations, KAYOU constructs a long-term product ecosystem, shifting consumers from single purchases to series collection, effectively enhancing消费黏性and lifecycle. Additionally, beyond core card products, KAYOU has陆续launched diversified潮玩products like 3D figurines and acrylic displays, continuously enriching its matrix to meet different user preferences. In community cultivation, KAYOU deeply activates player communities by building an official tournament system, extending consumption into competitive and social scenarios. To date, it has hosted over 5,000 tournaments in more than 100 cities, attracting over 200,000 young participants.
Simultaneously, KAYOU is steadily advancing its global layout. The company has established subsidiaries in Japan, the US, and Hong Kong, and actively promotes in markets like Southeast Asia and Europe/America through exhibitions. In September 2025, KAYOU officially announced its entry into the US market, further践行its vision of "activating the value of global leading IPs and building a diverse platform integrating creativity and cultural exchange." In October 2025, it launched three popular IP card series for the US market at New York Comic Con. In December, its first overseas store opened in Bangkok, Thailand, marking a new phase in its globalization strategy. As another representative of the "merch economy," POP MART demonstrates a different path: dominated by its own intellectual property (e.g., Molly, DIMOO), emphasizing design-driven innovation, and replicating the "surprise experience" product model on a massive, global scale through a mature blind box business model, a powerful channel network, and aggressive overseas market expansion. Its core lies in the rapid radiation capability of its brand and model.
In product and operations, POP MART exhibits极强的"standardized replication and rapid iteration" capability. Its product lines undergo rapid serialized and thematic development around core IPs, achieving high-frequency reach and sales conversion through a vast offline retail network (robotic stores, retail shops) and online channels. The core advantage of this model is极高的operational efficiency and scale expansion speed, enabling quick response to market trends. In global expansion, POP MART is equally aggressive and distinctive. Its出海strategy focuses on the localized replication of mature brands, products, and retail models, opening offline stores in major international cities, participating in large global exhibitions, and utilizing global social media for marketing. The success of these two models signifies the emergence of specialized leaders in细分赛道of the "merch economy," indicating true maturation.
The rise of the "merch economy" is an indisputable fact, but whether it can grow from the current consumption热潮into a solid pillar supporting the long-term development of China's cultural and creative industry still faces a critical leap from quantitative change to qualitative change. Looking ahead, the sustainable development of this emerging industry will depend on its ability to successfully build continuous content creativity, achieve deep integration with cutting-edge technology, and establish a unique position in the global market competition. Market research points out that the path overseas is not simply product export but a comprehensive competition involving cultural values, business models, and industrial standards. While标志性events like KAYOU opening its first overseas store in Thailand and POP MART landing in Times Square are just the beginning of Chinese "merch" globalization, the real challenge lies in enabling original IPs carrying Chinese cultural elements to gain emotional recognition from global consumers, not just acceptance as "Made in China" consumer goods.
Currently, domestic IP creation and licensing are still in their early stages, with an immature IP development system. Although there are many domestic IPs, there is a lack of top-tier works, and cultivating original IPs requires patience beyond short-term commercial returns. This demands that enterprises establish systematic IP development mechanisms. Positive signals are emerging from the market. The global popularity of "Black Myth: Wukong" proves that original content rooted in Chinese culture possesses world-class appeal. Concurrently, sales models represented by blind boxes and limited editions, while stimulating market enthusiasm, have also fostered speculative psychology and irrational consumption due to issues like opaque pricing and undisclosed probability mechanisms. The consumption risks隐藏behind some young consumers' heavy spending to obtain "hidden editions" urgently require attention from both the industry and society.
At the顶层设计level, a policy shift is creating a favorable environment for original IP cultivation. The "15th Five-Year Plan" recommendations outline a clear blueprint for cultural industry development, explicitly proposing to "accelerate the development of new cultural formats and transform and upgrade traditional cultural formats," providing strong policy support for the standardized, high-quality development of the "merch economy." The aforementioned support of up to one million yuan for original IPs in Shanghai's Jing'an District is an example of local cultural support policies. A series of national measures to promote high-quality cultural industry development provide policy guarantees and resource倾斜for original content creation. The良性互动between industry and policy will accelerate the transformation of Chinese original IPs from "sporadic hits" to "systematic output."
It is worth noting that against the backdrop of policy encouragement for original IPs, KAYOU's model of "deep IP operation" shows advantages. This model involves not just acquiring IP licenses but also "re-creating" and "deeply挖掘" IP connotations through innovative methods like card narratives and skill systems, thereby establishing stronger emotional connections. Meanwhile, the product system KAYOU has built—a complete matrix from普及版to典藏版, coupled with standardized production processes and a节奏化的release schedule—forms a predictable, sustainable supply system. This industrial capability is the core of the "industrialization" emphasized by central media. Its scalable, replicable business model effectively curbs恶性practices in the industry like盲目over-issuance and随意reprinting. From this perspective, the "merch economy" is not only a vital component of China's cultural consumption market but is also set to carve an increasingly distinct Chinese imprint on the global cultural and creative landscape. This process is already箭在弦上.
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