Recently, after KFC and Bubble Mart jointly launched the "DIMOO Joint Blind Box Package" caused social controversy and concern, the blind box economy has once again become the focus of the topic.
On January 14, Shanghai drew a "red line" for the operation and sales of blind boxes.
On the same day, according to the official WeChat message of "Shanghai Market Supervision", in order to standardize the city's blind box business activities, protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and safeguard the social public interest, the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Market Supervision formulated and issued the "Shanghai Blind Box Business Activities Compliance Guidelines". (hereinafter referred to as the Guidelines). The Guidelines regulate blind box business activities from four aspects: clarifying the scope of application of the guidelines, the red line of blind box operation, and the compliance business recommendations. It clearly proposes that the price of a single blind box generally does not exceed 200 yuan, and it is forbidden to sell blind boxes to minors under the age of 8.
Specifically, the Guidelines apply to blind box operators within the administrative region of Shanghai Municipality, as well as other operators who sell blind box goods to consumers in Shanghai. Including the main body with blind box as the main business format, the main body that sporadically carries out blind box business for the purpose of promotion and publicity, and the main body that provides promotion, planning, marketing and other services for blind box operation.
The "Guidelines" draw a red line for blind box business, blind box business activities should comply with the provisions of relevant laws, regulations and rules, and the business scope is generally in the fields of daily consumption, literature, art and entertainment. Laws and regulations clearly stipulate that the sale and circulation of goods prohibited from being sold shall not be sold in the form of blind boxes.
Commodities with strict requirements on sales qualifications, storage and transportation, and conditions of use shall not be sold in the form of blind boxes, such as special foods, drugs, medical devices, toxic and harmful substances, inflammable and explosive materials, live animals, etc.
Image source: Daily Economic News Infographic
The Guidelines put forward advocacy suggestions for specific blind box business activities, promote the development of platform standardization, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.
Standardize the blind box price system. The actual value of the goods in the blind box should be basically equivalent to its selling price, and the price of a single blind box generally does not exceed 200 yuan. The price of ordinary goods shall not be raised in the form of blind boxes.
Define the blind box extraction rules. Blind box operators shall publicize information such as the type of goods, the rules for drawing boxes, the number of goods to be placed, and the probability of extraction of hidden funds, fully inform consumers, and retain complete records of probability settings, extraction results, and distribution for future reference.
Encourage the establishment of a guarantee mechanism. Blind box operators are encouraged to publicize standards, and when the same consumer draws the same series of blind box goods to pay an amount or extract a certain number of times, provide a reasonable way so that they can obtain hidden goods or a complete set of products. However, it is not mandatory.
Strengthen the after-sales protection of goods. Blind box operators are required to establish a convenient and effective complaint handling mechanism, disclose information such as complaint methods, handling procedures, and return and replacement standards, and must not prevaricate, delay, or refuse to handle consumer complaints.
Regulate marketing hype. Blind box operators are required not to carry out financial-related marketing, not to intervene in the secondary market market, and not to carry out sky-high price speculation, excessive marketing, and hunger marketing.
Mechanisms for the Protection of Minors. Blind box operators are required not to sell blind boxes to minors under the age of 8. The sale of blind box goods to minors over the age of 8 should confirm the consent of the guardian through different methods such as online and offline.
According to the News Network of China News Network, in this regard, the relevant person in charge of the blind box seller Bubble Mart said that Bubble Mart has always supported the relevant policies introduced by the government to regulate the market. A healthy and orderly tide play market is not only conducive to protecting the rights and interests of consumers, but also creates a good development space for Bubble Mart. Regarding the suggestions mentioned in the Guidelines, Bubble Mart said that the next step will be to actively cooperate with the regulatory authorities and gradually explore specific solutions that can be implemented in accordance with the spirit of the Guidelines.
Not long ago, KFC and blind box seller Bubble Mart jointly launched the "DIMOO joint blind box package", triggering consumers to rush to buy. Many consumers buy dozens of packages for "Qiuwa", resulting in food waste. To this end, the China Consumer Association named KFC on the 12th to induce excessive consumption of food.
In the secondary market, Bubble Mart landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in December 2020, and soon the stock price hit a new high of HK$107.34/share, and then continued to decline, and on January 6, 2022, it hit a new low of HK$39.2/share, with a maximum drawdown of 63%. As of press time, Bubble Mart's share price was quoted at HK$45.7 per share, with a total market capitalization of HK$64.1 billion.
Editor| Lu Xiangyong and Du Hengfeng
Proofreading | Cheng Peng
Daily economic news synthesized from Shanghai market supervision, China News Network and so on
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