Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2023
Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

Several shoppers suffered injuries as a large crowd rushed to buy limited edition art toys at the opening of Thailand’s first Pop Mart store in Bangkok on Wednesday.

Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

The popular Chinese toy company officially launched its flagship Thai store at CentralWorld shopping mall on Rama I Road.

Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

In a special opening-day promotion, Pop Mart offered shoppers who spent over 10,000 baht exclusive rights to buy the Thai limited edition of its Skull Panda art toy.

Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

Only 140 units of the 14-cm high collectible, described as “Skull Panda Hoar Frost Le Coeur de Neige”, were available, priced at 6,990 baht apiece.

Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

Hundreds of shoppers reportedly queued up in front of the store overnight on Tuesday, ready for the opening on Wednesday morning.

Some, however, were not toy collectors but hired to stand in line by scalpers who hoped to resell the limited-edition toys at marked-up prices, said a source.

Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

A job advertisement was posted on Facebook on Tuesday seeking 50 persons to stand in line at Pop Mart to receive the queue cards. The ad offered payment of 400-1,000 baht.

Listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, Pop Mart is known for selling collectible designer toys, often packaged in a “blind box” format, and is highly popular among China’s young and affluent consumers.

Shoppers injured as crowds scramble for bling toys at Thailand’s first Pop Mart opening

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