"Quantasing" transforms into "Dream Island" to take on Labubu with Wakuku

The former adult education company Quantasing has transformed into a trendy toy manufacturer and renamed itself Here Group, with its trendy toy-related business experiencing significant growth in the latest quarter. Key Points Here Group's revenue nearly doubled quarter-on-quarter in the latest quarter ending in September, driven by the active expansion of its newly acquired trendy toy business. Based on this year's estimated sales, the company's current price-to-sales ratio is only 2.5 times, less than a quarter of the 10.3 times of trendy toy giant Pop Mart. Yang Ge Labubu, please note! Wakuku is closing in on you. This challenge comes from Here Group Ltd. (HERE.US, hereinafter referred to as Here Group), a new company that has "risen from the ashes" of the former adult education company Quantasing. This warning may be premature, as Here Group's trendy toy business is still only a small part of the global trendy toy giant, Labubu series owner Pop Mart (9992.HK). Here Group entered the trendy toy business this year through the acquisition of Shenzhen Yiqi Culture Co., Ltd. (Letsvan), which is the company that launched the Wakuku series last year. Here Group has rapidly increased its investment in this new business, launching an intensive promotional campaign and planning to establish a network of offline stores. In September, Here Group announced plans to sell its original adult education business, and its latest quarterly report released last week is the first to cover only the trendy toy business. To align with this significant transformation, the company has also abandoned the original name Quantasing and stock code, and will begin trading under the new name "Here Group" starting November 11. This transformation seems relatively cautious, as education in China has become increasingly sensitive due to potential regulatory crackdowns. The company primarily focused on adult education, making it less susceptible to regulatory shocks, unlike the K12 after-school tutoring industry, which faced significant restructuring four years ago and was nearly uprooted. The trendy toy industry is relatively less sensitive but also quite volatile. Hot products often rise to fame quickly but can also decline just as fast. This seems to be happening with Labubu, which sparked a global craze this summer. This means trendy toy companies must continuously create and promote new characters, known as intellectual property (IP), to maintain sales momentum. Unlike other trendy toy companies, Here Group is almost entirely betting on self-developed and exclusive licensed IP, which is a high-risk strategy. In contrast, competitors like Blokus (0325.HK), MINISO (MNSO.US; 9896.HK) under Top Toy, and even Pop Mart, adopt a mixed model of both self-developed IP and non-exclusive licensed IP from third parties like Disney (DIS.US) and Japan's Sanrio (8136.T). Here Group stated during its first earnings call as a "pure trendy toy company" last week that nearly all, specifically 97%, of its revenue of 127 million yuan (18 million USD) for the quarter ending in September came from its three proprietary IPs, with Wakuku contributing the most at 71%, followed by the earlier launched IP "ZIYULI You Li." Contribution of 16%. The main advantage of using exclusive proprietary IP is the higher profit margin, as the company does not have to pay high licensing fees or share profits with licensors. However, this also means that the responsibility for promoting the IP falls entirely on the company itself; unlike licensed characters like Hello Kitty, which already have high recognition, the promotion costs are relatively lower. Rapid Revenue Growth Next, we will take a closer look at the financial situation of Qimeng Island. Data shows that as the company actively promotes its products, its trendy toy business has already shown strong growth in the early stages. Qimeng Island recorded revenue of 127 million yuan in the three months ending in September (the first quarter of its fiscal year), nearly double the 65.8 million yuan obtained from this business in the previous quarter ending in June. The company stated that it expects revenue for the current quarter ending in December to increase to 150 million to 160 million yuan, indicating continued revenue growth, but the quarter-on-quarter growth rate will slow to about 22%. However, this slowdown is likely due to seasonal factors. The company also stated that it expects revenue for the fiscal year ending next September to reach 750 million to 800 million yuan, meaning that the revenue for the second half of this fiscal year will be about 500 million yuan, almost double the estimated revenue of about 280 million yuan for the first half. Since Qimeng Island announced its entry into the trendy toy market earlier this year, its stock price trend seems to have roughly synchronized with Pop Mart. The stock initially surged significantly, reaching a five-fold high in mid-June from the beginning of the year. Although it has since fallen more than 60%, it is still more than double the level at the beginning of the year. Similarly, Pop Mart's stock price also doubled at one point this year compared to the beginning of the year, reaching a peak in mid-August, but then fell more than 40%. Nevertheless, the current stock price level is still more than double that of the beginning of the year. From a valuation perspective, if Qimeng Island can achieve its promised growth targets, its stock price undoubtedly still has considerable upside potential. Based on its annual revenue forecast for the first year as a trendy toy company, the current stock price corresponds to about 2.5 times the price-to-sales ratio (P/S), only a quarter of Pop Mart's 10.3 times and less than half of Bruker's 6.11 times. Li Peng, Chairman and Founder of Qimeng Island, introduced several initiatives the company has undertaken to promote its products during the earnings call, including launching themed districts in Shanghai and collaborating with the operator of Beijing's state-owned broadcasting and television station, stating that this could become a model for establishing cooperation across China in the future. He also mentioned that the company has opened its first offline stores in Beijing and Chongqing and anticipates more stores will open next year. Currently, its business is still mainly concentrated in China, but the company emphasizes that it has established a business foundation in 20 other markets, laying the groundwork for future global expansion