E-commerce / RetailChina
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JOURNEY · DETAIL
TOP TOY: The Path to a 18.2 Billion Revenue IPO for the MINISO-backed Designer Toy Retailer
Founded: Sun Yuanwen · TOP TOY International Group Limited
JOURNEY
Key Fields
FIELD STAMPSIndustryE-commerce / Retail
RegionChina
ScaleMid-size
ChannelOther
Origin
In 2020, Sun Yuanwen, a former Uniqlo management trainee who later became Operations Director at MINISO, presented a comprehensive business plan for designer toys to Ye Guofu, arguing that the sector was an undervalued growth market. With Ye's approval, the brand was incubated within MINISO. The first store opened in December 2020 at Grandview Mall in Guangzhou, spanning over 400 square meters. It generated over 1.08 million RMB in revenue within the first three days, with price points ranging from 59 RMB to over 10,000 RMB, focusing on a multi-IP collection rather than a single proprietary IP.
Milestones
2020
Inception Turning Point
Sun Yuanwen convinced Ye Guofu with a complete business plan. The first TOP TOY store opened in Guangzhou's Grandview Mall, covering over 400 square meters and generating over 1.08 million RMB in revenue in its first three days, proving that the designer toy collection store model could succeed even in lower-tier Chinese commercial districts. Sun was 29 at the time, having risen from a Uniqlo management trainee to a regional manager.
2021
Expansion Failure
During the rapid expansion phase, the company relied heavily on third-party IP licensing from Marvel, Disney, and Sanrio, leading to severe product homogenization. Compounded by the pandemic and weak consumer sentiment, store growth slowed. Industry critics questioned whether the collection store model was merely selling others' goods without a brand moat, with insufficient endogenous growth becoming the focus of external scrutiny. This phase lasted from 2021 through 2022.
2024
Adjustment PMF
In 2024, leveraging the MINISO supply chain, the brand launched hit products like Disney's Lotso-themed figures and Sanrio amusement park building blocks. The proportion of self-developed and co-branded products increased, and GMV growth remained the highest among Chinese designer toy collection brands, proving that the 'major IP + hit product' strategy was viable and helping the brand move beyond its identity as a pure retail channel.
2025
Upgrade Pivot
The first global flagship store opened on Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street in Shanghai. The brand held a strategic upgrade conference, announcing a plan to open over 1,000 stores in 100 core global commercial districts over the next five years, replicating MINISO's globalization strategy in the designer toy sector.
2025
IP Acquisition Pivot
Established a joint venture, Guoran Youqu, with HiTOY, with TOP TOY holding a 51% stake. The JV focuses on operating healing-style IPs like Nommi and Maymei, addressing the gap in proprietary IP and responding to market skepticism regarding reliance on licensed IP.
2026
IPO Push Failure
After the initial filing with the HKEX on September 26, 2025, lapsed, the prospectus was updated at the end of 2025 with J.P. Morgan, UBS, and CITIC Securities as joint sponsors. A second filing was made on March 31, 2026. Despite doubling revenue and a 77% increase in adjusted net profit with a valuation over HK$10 billion, the lapse of the prospectus itself highlighted capital market concerns over the high proportion of licensed IP.
Turning Points
- Shifted from a pure third-party IP collection to a dual-track strategy of major IP hits and self-developed products; the 2024 Lotso and Sanrio block hits were the watershed moment.
- Acquired proprietary IPs like Nommi through the joint venture Guoran Youqu in 2025, filling the biggest gap before the IPO.
- Replicated MINISO's partnership and globalization model, announcing a 1,000-store global expansion plan to elevate the competition from China to the global stage.
Failures & Pitfalls
- Product homogenization during the 2021-2022 rapid expansion led to criticism that it was merely a channel distributor selling others' goods, causing a significant slowdown in growth.
- The first Hong Kong IPO filing in September 2025 lapsed due to capital market doubts regarding reliance on licensed IP and earnings quality.
- Channel overlap with the parent brand MINISO created internal competition, where franchisees faced a 'left hand vs. right hand' dilemma as MINISO stores could also sell TOP TOY products.
- Proprietary IP brand awareness remains significantly weaker than Pop Mart's MOLLY and LABUBU, leaving the brand moat fragile.
关键成功要素
- Leveraging MINISO's supply chain, store opening system, and partnership mechanism significantly lowered the entry cost compared to independent designer toy startups.
- Avoided the heavy investment of proprietary IP incubation by using established major IPs like Disney, Sanrio, and Marvel to ensure hit products.
- Management team comes from MINISO's frontline operations; founder Sun Yuanwen possesses a complete retail background from Uniqlo management trainee to MINISO regional operations.
- Timely addressed the proprietary IP gap through a joint venture, creating a compelling narrative for the IPO.
- Used global flagship stores and a 1,000-store plan to upgrade the brand story from a designer toy collection store to a global IP retail platform.
Lessons
- Starting under a 'big tree' is fast, but the biggest competitor may be the parent company; channel and IP boundaries must be clearly defined early on.
- The ceiling for pure collection stores is low; hit product operational capability and proprietary IP are the core variables for valuation.
- Validating demand with licensed IP hits before developing proprietary IP is more stable than the asset-heavy approach of starting with IP.
- IPO timing is influenced by both market sentiment and business structure; a lapsed filing does not mean business failure, but revenue and profit growth must be solidified before a second attempt.
- Following Pop Mart's path is a dead end; differentiated positioning is more important than chasing the market leader.
Core Data
- 2020 First store opening revenue (first 3 days)：1.08 million RMB (based on public data, independent verification not performed)
- 2026 Adjusted net profit growth before second filing：77% (based on public data, independent verification not performed)
- Pre-IPO valuation：Over 10 billion HKD (based on public data, independent verification not performed)
- Founder Sun Yuanwen's shareholding：3.9% (based on public data, independent verification not performed)
- Joint venture Guoran Youqu shareholding ratio：51% (based on public data, independent verification not performed)
- Overseas expansion goal：Over 1,000 stores in 100 core commercial districts over five years (based on public data, independent verification not performed)
Competitors / Peers
The primary benchmark is Pop Mart, which built a business legend with a market cap of approximately 400 billion through proprietary IPs like MOLLY and LABUBU, following an IP incubation and asset-heavy theme park route. TOP TOY, conversely, chose a multi-IP collection and licensed hit product route. Sun Yuanwen has publicly stated that he does not view Pop Mart as a competitor, believing they are in different 'rivers.' Other competitors in the same tier include 52TOYS and card giant Kayou, both of which have filed for IPOs, as well as the MINISO parent brand's own IP-licensed shelves, which share franchisees and supply chains with TOP TOY, creating a subtle internal competitive relationship.