BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): 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 (Sept 20).
The popular Chinese toy company officially launched its flagship Thai store at CentralWorld shopping mall on Rama I Road.
In a special opening-day promotion, Pop Mart offered shoppers who spent over 10,000 baht (RM1,300) exclusive rights to buy the Thai limited edition of its Skull Panda art toy.
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.
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.
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.
