Thousands of dollars' worth of Labubus stolen as toy's popularity continues to soar
Dozens of boxes of the popular Labubu toy totaling around $7,000 were stolen from a store in La Puente, California, this week, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
The burglary happened around 1:29 a.m. on Aug. 6 at One Stop Sales, a store known for its Labubu dolls and accessories.
"We worked so hard to get to this point, [only] for them just to come in and like nothing take it all away," Joanna Avendano, co-owner of One Stop Sales, told local ABC station KABC-TV on Thursday.
The shop has since posted surveillance footage of the incident on social media. One video shows at least four masked people breaking into the store, ransacking shelves and fleeing with boxes of merchandise.
Avendano also shared images of the aftermath, showing shattered glass at the entrance and scattered products on the floor.
Deputies told ABC News Thursday that the suspects remain at large but they have recovered the stolen white Toyota Tacoma used in the crime.
Labubus, which debuted in China in 2015, have exploded in global popularity, spotted on celebrities like Rihanna, Lizzo, and BLACKPINK's Lisa and growing into a billion-dollar industry.
Revenue for Pop Mart, the Chinese designer toy company behind Labubus, doubled in 2024, reaching $1.8 billion, according to Pop Mart's annual financial report. While the doll retails for about $30, they can go for hundreds and sometimes even thousands of dollars on the resale market.
On social media, videos show crowds packing store entrances and pop-ups, lining up for a chance to score a box.
Alex DePaoli, an associate teaching professor of marketing at Northeastern University's School of Business, told ABC News that part of the Labubu appeal comes from their marketed rarity and the way they are sold through a "blind box" system.
"[It's a] system essentially where you don't know what's in the box, you hope that what's in the box is what you want," DePaoli said in an interview that aired Friday on "Good Morning America." "If you don't get what you want, you've got to go buy another one. A lot of folks have sort of likened that sort-of system to almost gambling."
The market for Labubus has become so popular that some consumers are turning to counterfeit alternatives known as "Lafufus," which are made with lower-quality materials and may have different features than authentic Labubus.
"They're not just toys, they are accessories," DePaolis said of the Labubu craze. "They are things that you can collect, not just to dress them up, not just be amused by, but also to complete an outfit."
