What's my LINE of toys?
The chat app's emoticon characters take on a retail life of their own
BROWN AND CONY, the most popular emoticons on the chat application Line, recently came to life to meet their fans in Bangkok when the country’s first Line Friends pop-up store appeared at Siam Center following their visits to Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta.
The little shop catches the eyes with a full range of original lifestyle products direct from Line’s South Korean headquarters, all bearing the likeness of the nine characters – Brown, Cony, Moon, James, Sally, Boss, Jessica, Edward and Leonard.
“Line has been a huge success in Thailand, with 22 million users, second only to Japan, where there are 50 million,” says Line Thailand consultant Varadee Vasavananda. “We introduced the Line Friends pop-up store as a global project to give the users a chance to get closer to their favourite characters.”
These characters have been extended in recent years into a collection of accessories of various designs that are sold all over Japan, even in convenience stores. They’re a hit with foreign tourists looking for souvenirs as well.
“The merchandise has so far only been available in Thailand as draw prizes at promotional events and in limited editions at the Line Flash Sale store, where they sold out in three minutes,” says Varadee.
There are home decor, stationery, tableware and clothing and accessories. The calendars, sketchbooks, diaries, gel pens, board magnets, stickers, eco-shopping bags are all quite charming, as are the socks, caps with ears, hand mirrors, coffee mugs and coasters.
The top sellers seem to be the silicone iPhone 5 cases, the puffy dolls, the captivating “action” figures and the USB flash drives that look like Brown, Moon, Cony and James. There’s a box set of paper dolls in different sizes and designs too.
You can enter Line’s Valentine’s Day photo competition for a chance to win an exclusive edition of the Cony and Brown figures. Just upload a photo of you and your sweetheart taken at the pop-up store to the Line Friend chat site before February 14.
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>>The Line Friends pop-up store is on the second floor of Siam Center and open daily from 10 to 6.
>>Find out more at www.Facebook.com/Thailand.Line
