LABUBU continues to command many headlines and trending topics in China and abroad. With the release of the MONSTERS Wacky Mart collection featuring LABUBU, POP MART announced several pop-up shops for the new collection. The pop-up spaces, in Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu, will open on 13 June and require a booking to visit. The Chengdu leg went viral after the 0.01 RMB (0.0014 USD) slots sold out instantly and were touted for over 500 RMB (69.51 USD) by resellers. Meanwhile, netizens spotted LABUBU planes in airports.
The aeroplane is from Loong Air (长龙航空) in Zhejiang, based in Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport. Loong Air responded to the enquiries after images of its LABUBU planes went viral, stating it was an official collaboration with POP MART, the toy company behind the LABUBU IP. However, the exterior graphics only appear on some of the planes, and you cannot request to ride them.
- #labubu飞机 LABUBU planes: 25.91 million views on Weibo, ranking number 10 on the Hot Search list
However, it needs to be pointed out that the POP MART co-branded aeroplanes also feature other popular characters such as MOLLY and DIMOO. Loong Air went on to announce a prize draw on its social platforms, where you can win a model of the plane with the POP MART paint job if you post a picture of it using certain hashtags. With LABUBU’s popularity spreading from online to offline with the pop-ups and branded planes, the craze for the MONSTER might grow even further.