Recently, a number of consumers have reflected that the probability of winning in the official channel of Bubble Mart is only 1/144 of the "SKULLPANDA Night City Series" hidden blind box "Night Guardian", due to defects to apply for after-sales exchange, but was refused to be exchanged by customer service on the grounds of "inconsistent with the genuine product", but Bubble Mart failed to show relevant identification evidence. Some consumers said that after the replacement was fruitless, Bubble Mart returned the courier, but the returned doll was inconsistent with the one sent by the consumer.
On March 10, the staff of Bubble Mart told Nandu reporters that "it has reconciled with the vast majority of consumers and carried out normal after-sales service." The reason for the error in the identification is still being investigated, and the preliminary problem is that there is a time difference in the internal synchronization of the information, and the internal return and replacement and identification process will be further improved.
A lawyer told nandu reporter that if the merchant determines that the returned goods are fake, it should inform the consumer in detail of the basis for counterfeit identification and the identification method taken. Industry insiders believe that the dispute also reflects the problems in the customer service management of Bubble Mart. Nandu reporter noted that with the ebb and flow of blind box economy and stricter supervision, Bubble Mart is accelerating the "de-blind box" and striving to open up the non-blind box market.
Customer service called the hidden blind box purchased through the official channel "not genuine", and Bubble Mart apologized
On January 20, Bubble Mart launched the "SKULLPANDA Night City Series" blind box, which contains 12 regular models and 1 hidden model, and the price of a single blind box is 69 yuan, and the whole set is priced at 828 yuan. Among them, the sampling probability of the hidden blind box "Night Guardian" is 1/144.
Blind box products involved.
Nandu reporter noted that a number of consumers reflected on social platforms that the "Night Guardian" blind box drawn in the official channel was defective to apply for after-sales exchange, but was refused to be exchanged by customer service on the grounds of "inconsistent with the genuine product", but Bubble Mart failed to show relevant identification evidence. Some consumers said that after the replacement was fruitless, Bubble Mart returned the courier, but the consumer found that the returned dolls were inconsistent with the sending, and the boxes and cards were not returned.
Until the end of February, consumers received notices from Bubble Mart one after another, saying that "non-genuine products" were "defective products" and could be exchanged for after-sales, but consumers were not informed of the reasons for the change.
On March 10, the staff of Bubble Mart told nandu reporters on this matter that "it has reconciled with the vast majority of consumers and carried out normal after-sales service." The specific reasons for the error in the identification are still being investigated, because the "SKULLPANDA Night City Series" is a hot series, the volume is very large, different batches of goods from a number of factories, there may also be some subtle differences, "the initial problem is due to the time difference between us in this area of internal synchronization of information."
Bubble Mart also said, "I'm sorry to cause trouble to everyone because of the product problem." Bubble Mart attaches great importance to the consumer experience, if there is a product problem will be the first time to give coordination to solve, we will further improve the internal return and replacement and identification process to avoid similar problems. ”
The lawyer said that Bubble Mart should inform consumers in detail of the basis for identifying counterfeits and the identification method
In this regard, Zhao Peng, a senior tide play practitioner, co-founder of the Color Aesthetics Museum and Hi Special Purchase, told Nandu reporters that the production of tide play currently relies on manual participation, involving multiple parts and components, and there are more processes. In the process of assembly, color grading, coloring and other production, some products and the standard version of the difference, and even the difference between individuals, is a normal phenomenon.
Zhao Peng believes that this dispute also reflects the problems in the customer service management of Bubble Mart. "Customer service is a window for a company to the outside world, and when answering customer questions, it is necessary to fully communicate with internal personnel and respond to consumers after rigorous verification."
Wang Liangliang, a lawyer at Beijing Hechang Law Firm, believes that this is a typical online shopping return and exchange dispute, but the blind box is a special commodity, and the conditions for returning and exchanging goods are stricter than those of general goods. Wang Liangliang said that the current rules are more favorable to merchants, but if merchants abuse their rights or even use fraud and other means to deny defects in goods, and do not return or exchange goods without legitimate reasons, they should bear legal responsibility; at the same time, consumers should also have a sense of evidence and pay attention to retaining evidence.
Wang Liangliang also said that if the merchant determines that the returned goods are fake, the consumer should be informed of the basis for identifying the counterfeit and the identification method adopted, and detailed instructions should be given. If consumers buy from official sources, they essentially negate the possibility of counterfeits. However, consumers are also required to prove that the goods were purchased from official channels and that the returned goods are identical to the goods purchased.
Therefore, Wang Liangliang suggested that consumers should preferably record the entire process of opening the blind box through courier witness or video. When returning or exchanging goods, it is also proved in a similar way and the details of the returned goods are specified in detail. If the negotiation fails, help can be obtained by reporting to the market supervision and management department and complaining to the consumer association.
Blind box economy retreat, supervision is becoming stricter, bubble mart to accelerate the development of non-blind box market
Founded in October 2010, Beijing Bubble Mart Culture and Creative Co., Ltd. is a trend culture and entertainment company integrating trend commodity sales, artist brokerage, derivatives development and licensing, interactive entertainment and trend exhibition hosting, and opened an offline retail store in Beijing in the same year. In the process of development, Bubble Mart developed and sold trendy toy products based on high-quality IP image, and upgraded from a simple channel provider to an IP operator.
Under the economic boom of the blind box, in January 2017, Bubble Mart successfully landed on the new third board, and the company's performance also rose all the way. In April 2019, Bubble Mart terminated its stock listing. On December 11, 2020, Bubble Mart was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. After the opening of the first day of listing, the stock price of Bubble Mart reached HK$77.1, an increase of more than 100% over the issue price, and was known as the "first share of the blind box" and "the first share of the tide play".
The blind box has contributed more than 80% of the profits of Bubble Mart, helping it out of losses. According to the prospectus, from 2017 to June 30, 2020, the revenue generated by the sale of blind box products accounted for 57.8% and 84.2% of the total revenue in the same period, respectively.
IP is the core of Bubble Mart's business, and exclusive IP resources have also helped it achieve revenue highlights. The Molly doll, the head IP of Bubble Mart, has made it stand out from the blind box economy, and the financial report shows that Molly contributed 41.6% of revenue in 2018, and as of June 2021, it has dropped to 11.5%. The other two major IPs, Dimmo and Skullpanda, accounted for 11.6% and 10.3% of revenue in 2021, respectively.
As a new form of consumption, blind boxes are frequently chaotic such as false publicity, quality problems, and suspected plagiarism. In January, Bubble Mart and KFC jointly launched a limited edition blind box package, which triggered some consumers to hire someone to "eat on behalf of" for "begging for a baby", which was pointed out by the China Consumer Association to easily lead to consumer impulse consumption, and unnecessary food waste caused by over-purchase.
It is worth noting that the supervision of the blind box economy is becoming stricter. Nandu previously reported that on January 14, the Shanghai Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau issued the "Shanghai Blind Box Business Activities Compliance Guidelines", which clarifies the scope of application of the guidelines for blind box business activities, and puts forward 20 compliance business suggestions from the aspects of blind box price system, extraction rules, and guarantee mechanism. Nandu reporter noted that during the two sessions of the National People's Congress this year, a number of deputies and members paid attention to the blind box economy and put forward suggestions such as strengthening the supervision of the blind box market and standardizing management.
Bubble Mart has also accelerated the pace of "de-blind boxing" and strived to open up the non-blind box market. As early as the 2021 interim results conference, founder Wang Ning once said, "Before and after the listing of Bubble Mart, we repeatedly explained to people that Bubble Mart is not a blind box company, it is an IP-based tide play company. ”
Nandu reporter noted that from 2021, Bubble Mart will no longer list the income of the blind box separately in the financial report, saying that it will further explore the development of MEGA, derivatives, BJD and other categories and improve related processes and production and sales processes. In June 2021, Bubble Mart launched the MEGA Collection (Dawa), which focuses on the high-end market and is priced at 4999 yuan, declaring it "the first collectible for young people".
In August 2021, Beijing Bubble Mart Park Management Co., Ltd. was established, and its business scope includes urban park management, amusement parks, ticketing agents, etc. At the beginning of January 2022, Bubble Mart was exposed to have reached a cooperation with Beijing Chaoyang Park to create the first offline park using the "European Charm" project in the park and surrounding streets and forests. The project has completed concept setting and is in the programme design phase.
Written by: Nandu reporter Fang Shiqi
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