Counterfeit Labubu dolls are displayed by a street vendor in New York City in September.Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Lindsay Coene’s kids had been bugging her for a Labubu – a creepy-cute plush monster pendant that has become both a viral children’s toy and sought-after fashion accessory worn by the likes of Rihanna, Blackpink’s Lisa and Naomi Osaka.
Ms. Coene didn’t know much about Labubus – such as the fact that they’re almost impossible to find – so she was delighted to see that the dollar store in her hometown near Sarnia, Ont., had them in stock for just $20 each. She scooped up three and brought them home to her kids as a back-to-school treat.
Labubus are sold in blind boxes, meaning collectors don’t know which one they’re getting at purchase. The boxes Ms. Coene bought looked like the ones she saw online – same artwork, same logos.
But inside was a different story.
“They were not Labubus,” Ms. Coene said with a chuckle. “They were so bad. The one was missing a hand. The paint was chipped off the teeth and nose. We got Lafufus.”
Lafufus are the affectionately named counterfeit counterpart to the popular Labubu plush pendants. While the real thing may be hard to come by – at least at retail prices – Lafufus are ubiquitous in shopping centres and corner stores in Canada and the United States. They continue to be popular, even as agencies in the U.S. and Britain warn that the counterfeit versions can easily break apart, posing a serious choking hazard.
Lindsay Coene's one-handed Lafufu. The creepy Labubu dolls, and their counterfeit counterparts, became popular as stars such as Rihanna and Blackpink's Lisa started wearing them as bag charms.Supplied
A month ago, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers confiscated a shipment of counterfeit Labubus worth more than US$500,000 at a Seattle airport. Authorities in China have also been making efforts to crack down on the production and sale of Lafufus. In the summer, the Chinese government announced it had confiscated nearly 49,000 suspected knock-offs.
Labubu’s Chinese toymaker, Pop Mart International Group, has also been turning to the courts to battle the fakes, filing trademark and counterfeit claims in the U.S. against scores of businesses, including 7-Eleven.
A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in July accused the convenience-store chain of offering the counterfeit Labubus in packaging that was “identical or virtually identical” to the Pop Mart packaging, but the product itself was of “inferior quality,” confusing customers. (7-Eleven did not respond to a request for comment.)
But in Canada, the sale of Lafufus has been happening largely unchecked by authorities.
Samir Kulkarni is the chief executive officer of Showcase, which has 150 stores in malls across Canada and the U.S., and is one of the few retailers in the country that sell genuine Labubus.
“We have been seeing kiosks and other temporary tenants popping up with counterfeits. Definitely it’s a major problem,” he said. “The counterfeits are poorly constructed, often deformed. They won’t have the holographic code and serial number.”
Counterfeit Labubu dolls can be found at various shops across the U.S. and Canada.Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Showcase has had its lawyers reach out to Canadian mall landlords directly about removing the bogus toys.
“In most cases they have taken action very quickly and had those items removed,” Mr. Kulkarni said.
Graham Hood, practice group leader of the trademarks team at law firm Smart & Biggar, said that in Canada, it’s typical that brand owners are the ones that have to deal with policing counterfeit goods.
“Occasionally law enforcement will get involved, but that tends to happen where there is some crossover with dealings in counterfeit goods and dealings with other illicit items, such as guns and drugs,” Mr. Hood said. “Day to day, the enforcement efforts fall on the shoulders of the brand owners and their counsel.”
Mr. Hood said it’s important for companies to take steps to protect their intellectual property and trademark rights. Counterfeits can undermine consumers’ trust in the brand and undercut sales of the genuine product.
In fact, popular as Labubus are, recent data suggest that the frenzy may be cooling – and the pervasiveness of the Lafufu may be partly to blame.
The Labubu is a character designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung that was inspired by Norse mythology and first appeared in picture books in 2015. Pop Mart has gone on to sell a variety of different Labubu products, but it was its plush pendants that went viral in 2023 after celebrities began wearing them as bag charms.
The ubiquitousness of counterfeit Labubu dolls could be contributing to the trend dying down, experts say.Jeenah Moon/Reuters
Today, these models typically retail for about $40 through the Pop Mart website; however, they are perennially on back order with new drops selling out in seconds. On the resale market, Labubus can go for two or three times their Pop Mart price.
In the past year, the global frenzy around Labubus has pushed Pop Mart’s share price up by about 450 per cent on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. But recently, things have changed.
Pop Mart’s stock has been on a downward trajectory since an Aug. 26 high of 335.40 Hong Kong dollars. The slide continued last week after J.P. Morgan changed its rating from “overweight” to “neutral.” On Friday it closed at 271.40 HKD.
J.P. Morgan analysts Kevin Yin and Yibo Wu said in a note to investors that they feel sales momentum and brand equity remain solid, but they also “believe the valuation is priced for perfection and any small fundamental miss/negative media reports (i.e. resale price drop and third-party licensing) might drive underperformance.”
On the positive side, the report noted that the “massive anti-counterfeiting initiatives” under way by Chinese customs officials “would effectively clean up the marketplace and favor Pop Mart.”
For Mr. Hood, counterfeit products are one of those issues that have become industry-agnostic: “If the genuine article is making money for a brand owner, chances are someone is knocking it off.” He said they’ve seen counterfeits of everything from toys and purses to toothpaste and even tires.
One often-overlooked step that brand owners can take to protect their intellectual property is to register their trademark rights and copyrights with the Canada Border Services Agency, Mr. Hood said. Brand owners can file a “request for assistance,” which is a simple form setting out various rights. With this record on file, officials can get in touch if they encounter an issue.
“This gives the brand owner an opportunity to confront the importer,” Mr. Hood said. “There are similar programs in the States, Europe and the U.K., but in Canada the uptake has not been significant.”