How a few-cent paper card became the 'king of cash' in China's consumer market
千亿赛道，超七成毛利：卡牌凭什么成为新消费的吸金之王？
Chinese collectible card game (TCG) company Kayou (卡游) reported 2024 revenue of RMB 10.06 billion and net profit of RMB 4.47 billion, with gross margins exceeding 70%, according to a 36Kr analysis. The piece examines how blind-box mechanics, IP licensing, and speculative secondary markets have transformed low-cost printed cards into a RMB 26.3 billion industry. It also flags risks including over-reliance on external IPs like Ultraman and a user base concentrated in teenagers.
The view from inside
The 36Kr piece frames Kayou's success as a precision play on deep human desires—scarcity, belonging, and speculative gain—and probes whether it can evolve from arbitrage into a lasting industry. It employs the domestic jargon of '谷子经济' (guzi economy, a fan-derivative goods economy), '社交货币' (social currency), and '消费金融化的内容产业' (consumer-financialized content industry) to elevate the discussion. The intended audience is investors and entrepreneurs tracking new consumption trends. The analysis self-consciously positions China's card sector against global benchmarks like Pokémon, asking if a local champion can build intergenerational 'emotional compound interest' rather than just a short-term windfall.
What an outside reader should notice
The article treats high-margin 'paper gold' driven by probabilistic blind-box mechanics and state-connected IP licensing as an innovative business model rather than an unregulated gambling adjacency. It does not engage with the debates about underage gambling, consumer protection, or regulatory crackdowns on blind-box culture that surface in non-Chinese coverage of similar markets.
Key points
- Kayou posted 2024 revenue of RMB 10.06 billion, up 277.8% year-on-year, with net profit of RMB 4.47 billion, up 378.3%.
- Core collectible card business gross margin reached 71.3% in 2024.
- Kayou controls an estimated 71.1% of China's RMB 26.3 billion TCG market, per industry statistics cited.
- The company sources revenue from 70 IPs, but its top five IPs (led by Ultraman) account for 86.1% of sales.
- Kayou operates 347 official stores across 135 cities with a design-to-shelf cycle of 20–30 days.
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