(Yicai) April 29 -- Resellers are already flipping the Labubu-themed mini fridges from Chinese toymaker Pop Mart International Group at close to a 50 percent premium. The limited-edition products do not officially go on sale until 10 p.m. tomorrow.

With preorders for the two refrigerator models exceeding supply by about 19 times, resellers are listing them on Chinese pre-owned apps for about CNY8,888 (USD1,300), a nearly 50 percent markup on their CNY5,999 (USD878) list price.

The 121-liter capacity fridges, sold on JD.com in two different Labubu-themed designs and limited to 999 units each, had already drawn nearly 38,000 preorders as of 2.30 p.m. yesterday, Yicai learned from the e-commerce platform.

Leveraging the huge global popularity of its Monster series of collectibles, the refrigerators mark Beijing-based Pop Mart’s entry into the home appliance sector.

They cost far more than comparable products in the market. Dual-use home and vehicle refrigerators of the same size cost under CNY200 (USD29) on JD.com, with some priced as low as CNY137 (USD20).

Home appliance makers once relied heavily on functional selling points, leading to severe product homogenization, Liu Jiyuan, research director at big data tech company Aowei Cloud Network, told Yicai. In today’s relatively sluggish consumer market, platforms and manufacturers need to move beyond past growth formulas and seek new paths based on current market conditions.

Intellectual property-licensed home appliances are not a new concept, but they are especially popular this year, Liu said, adding that appliance marketing is expected to take a softer development direction using IP to build emotional appeal and using artificial intelligence to expand service capabilities.

Even though IP tie-ins can boost market growth for appliances, they are unlikely to change the industry’s underlying fundamentals, especially when priced excessively high, a veteran of the kitchen appliance industry told Yicai. Consumers will not tolerate poorly functioning home appliances for long-term daily use, he noted.

IP collaborations mainly target young consumer groups with niche branding preferences, another senior industry insider said. Products like the Labubu fridges may fail to replicate the strong social and interactive appeal of Labubu toys when placed in ordinary homes.

A 30-year-old Labubu fan told Yicai that despite her fondness for the IP, she remains cautious about purchasing a fridge at such a high price.

Pop Mart has partnered with Xinbao Electrical Appliances, a Guangdong-based original equipment manufacturer, to produce a new line of small home appliances based on hit IPs such as Labubu.

In the month since their tie-up was announced on March 25, Xinbao Electrical’s share price [SHE: 002705] surged about 47 percent, hitting its highest since March 2023 on April 23, and then pulled back by roughly 15 percent, after Pop Mart launched the Labubu fridge on April 24.

Xinbao Electrical closed up 0.4 percent at CNY16 (USD2.34) in Shenzhen today, after falling 5.2 percent after the market open. Pop Mart’s shares [HKG: 9992] ended 2.4 percent higher at HKD156.80 (USD20) in Hong Kong.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione