A post-85s generation started a cross-border business in Guangzhou and became the first in multiple categories on multiple platforms

In the childhood memories of the 80s and 90s, there was a period of time occupied by yo-yos, and another period of time occupied by "twisted puzzles". During breaks and after classes, almost everyone had a square little toy. It was difficult to memorize mathematical formulas, but memorizing the formulas of this toy was very exciting and engaging.

But the popularity seems to have come to an abrupt end. It has been a long time since we have seen this category become as popular as it was back then. In a corner where no one noticed, a post-85s quietly started a business in Guangzhou with it and became the leading brand in the category.

Niche categories become frequent visitors to the BS list

Open the Amazon search bar and enter "Speed ​​Cube", you can see that there are 8,000 listings for this category on the platform, which is not a small number, but not a lot either.

The first one displayed on the search results homepage is GANCUBE from China .

In the Amazon Rubik's Cube category market filled with Rubik's , D-FantiX , Jurnwey, Roxenda , CuberSpeed ​​and other brands, GANCUBE is far ahead. On the homepage of the category keyword search results, the concentration of its brand listings is extremely high.

Searching for the brand word "GANCUBE" as the keyword, the platform shows 156 listings for sale. It is worth noting that most listings showed strong market popularity in January, which is "extremely off-season".

For example, in January, the monthly sales of a 3X3 Rubik's Cube product under GANCUBE exceeded 5,000 pieces. Calculated at its price of $23.99, this listing alone brought in nearly $120,000 in revenue (about RMB 870,000) in a single month . Since its launch, the listing has received nearly 11,600 reviews, with a rating of 4.8 stars, of which 87% are five-star reviews, and most of the comments are very satisfied with the product's feel and quality.

In the Amazon "Brain Teaser Puzzles (Intellectual Games)" category BS list, the above listing ranks third and is also the highest-ranked Rubik's Cube product on the list. At the same time, it is marked as "Amazon's choice" and "Overall Pick" products by Amazon .

Another Rubik's Cube, which is priced at $17.99, sold more than 2,000 pieces in January. Since its launch, it has received 12,900 reviews, a rating of 4.6 stars, 80% of which are five-star reviews, and ranked first in the BS list of the platform's "Puzzle Boxes" category .

Since entering Amazon in 2019, GANCUBE has quickly occupied the platform's Rubik's Cube market.

Jungle Scout data shows that GANCUBE has been ranked in the top 3 of the " Puzzle Toys " category on Amazon's US site for three consecutive years , with sales exceeding US$18 million in 2022. In addition, it ranks first in the product category on Amazon's German, Spanish , French and other sites .

Turn your hobby into a business and become a global leader

"Interest is interest, business is business."

But some people turned their hobbies into businesses and made a fortune.

In 2006, Jiang Ganyuan became the first Chinese Rubik's Cube Speed ​​Solving Champion , and has since broken Chinese records ( 7 times ) . The GAN CFOP tutorial he compiled is the most popular Rubik's Cube advanced tutorial in China . It was not until 2014 that he turned his hobby into a business, established Guangzhou Ganyuan Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd., and launched the Rubik's Cube brand GANCUBE.

At that time, GANCUBE had been focusing on the domestic market. Unfortunately, the domestic Rubik's Cube market was not fertile, so for several years, GANCUBE 's sales performance was mediocre.

Five years later ( 2019), GANCUBE found that after the products entered the overseas market through distributors, shipments continued to rise, which aroused the brand founder's strong interest in the overseas market. He quickly opened up the overseas B2C market through Amazon, and sales jumped from less than one million yuan to 70 to 80 million yuan.

At the end of 2021, GANCUBE entered Lazada again . In just one month, its GMV increased 10 times . Eight months later, the store's GMV soared 83 times compared to when it first entered , becoming the TOP1 in the educational toys category on the platform .

In 2023, GANCUBE entered the Mexican market through Meikeduo , and its products entered the BS list in the first week of its launch .

In the ten years since the brand was launched, GANCUBE has been on various overseas brand lists many times, and its ranking has continued to move up. Today, its products cover more than 100 markets around the world , including North America, Australia, Europe, and Southeast Asia , and have received enthusiastic responses from the market.

Rakuten's consumer trend report pointed out that in the first half of 2023 , GANCUBE's sales in Japan surged 237% year-on-year, becoming " the most popular stress-relieving tool for men in their 30s . "

AliExpress 2023 Q2 data mentioned that in emerging markets such as Brazil and Saudi Arabia, GANCUBE is the " king of light and small cross-border parcels " , with an average daily shipment volume of over 5,000 orders.

In 2023, GANCUBE 's annual revenue reached 300 million yuan, an increase of 100%, and the number of brand APP users exceeded one million .

After continuous exploration of platforms and markets in the early stage, GANCUBE 's path has become smoother and smoother, and its operations have become more and more handy. Its product sales are booming in various markets and on various leading e-commerce platforms. Among them, Amazon is the main overseas e-commerce platform, accounting for 80%. Therefore, in 2024, GANCUBE's target sales on Amazon will reach 200 million yuan .

“The APPLE of the Rubik’s Cube”

Compared with popular categories such as home furnishings and clothing, the Rubik's Cube market is very niche, and in the past this category was almost monopolized by European and American brands, such as Rubik's   Since its launch , GANCUBE has not only rewritten the history of the Rubik's Cube industry being " dominated by the West " , but has also swept the global market with an average annual growth rate of 50%.

Today, 7 out of every 10 professional Rubik's Cube players use GANCUBE products ( data from the World Cube Association 2023 annual report) .

PR Newswire called GANCUBE a " hall-level Rubik's Cube brand ", and the well-known speed-twisting Rubik's Cube website SpeedCubeShop also praised its products with the title "Why GANCUBE is the first choice for speed-twisting Rubik's Cubes".

As a Rubik's Cube enthusiast, GANCUBE founder Jiang Ganyuan could have more demands on the design and use of the Rubik's Cube from the user's perspective. He also established a Rubik's Cube team and signed Rubik's Cube players.

It is understood that, judging from the world average score of 3x3 Rubik's Cube, 8 out of the top 10 in the world are GANCUBE contracted players. GANCUBE is exploring potential Rubik's Cube competition players every year. While promoting the development of world Rubik's Cube competition, it also adjusts new products based on the feedback from contracted players in order to meet market demand.

Google Trend shows that since its establishment, GANCUBE's global attention has continued to grow, especially after it expanded into overseas markets in 2019, when the brand's popularity reached its first peak and has remained high since then.

The brand's data performance is due to its forward-looking establishment of a Rubik's Cube team, signing many world-class Rubik's Cube masters and having the signed players repeatedly break Rubik's Cube performance records, and sponsoring a series of world-class Rubik's Cube competitions.

In addition, GANCUBE has also been making continuous progress in its products. According to the 2015 sales report of SpeedCubeShop , its first product GAN 356 sold out in 48 hours as soon as it was launched on SpeedCubeShop (the world's largest Rubik's Cube e-commerce website) .

Entering the market with the Rubik's Cube, GANCUBE's products include magnetic Rubik's Cube, light Rubik's Cube, twisted puzzle, Rubik's Cube robot, etc. It also launches different series for beginners, advanced training, intelligence competitions, etc., and creates flagship products such as GAN356 XS, GAN356 X, GAN356 Air SM, GAN356 Air Pro, becoming the "Apple of the Rubik's Cube World " in the hearts of magic lovers around the world .

In NASA's 2022 supply list , the GANCUBE Rubik's Cube has become a space decompression toy for NASA astronauts .

Guangzhou

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