Pop Mart opens first Berlin store to "endless" queues

Some fans had traveled up to 500 kilometers, just to get their hands on Labubu, the wildly popular plush collectible.

BERLIN, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Not even the rainy weather could dampen the enthusiasm of hundreds of devoted fans who queued for kilometers outside a major Berlin shopping center early Friday morning, eagerly awaiting the opening of China's toy-maker Pop Mart's first store in Germany.

By the time the doors opened at 10 a.m. local time, the queue of people with umbrellas and camping chairs, fizzing with excitement, had already wrapped around the building. Some fans had traveled up to 500 kilometers, just to get their hands on Labubu, the wildly popular plush collectible.

One 41-year-old father told German media Berliner Rundfunk that he and his 10-year-old son had arrived 21 hours before opening time. "We got here yesterday at 1 p.m., and my son stood by the door. We realized we were the first ones. Then he clung to it and said, 'Dad, I'm not letting go,'" he recalled.

When the doors finally opened, the crowd surged forward. "It was chaotic, it was very hot, but it was all worth it," said Cynthia Schlater, 25, who waited in line for 14 hours. She told German media BZ Berlin that she spent about 500 euros in the store.

Labubu, one of Pop Mart's most beloved characters, has transformed from a quirky figure with googly eyes and sharp teeth into a global icon.

Founded in 2010, POP MART has risen to fame through its original character designs and collaborations with emerging artists, and it has attracted 1.2 million annual visitors to its flagship stores worldwide. ■