By Adriana Duarte ’27
Popmart, located in The SoNo Collection, a mall in Norwalk, CT, is a popular company that manufactures and sells character-based entertainment products and accessories. It focuses particularly on designer toys and collectibles often sold in blind box format, which keeps the figurine a surprise until the box is opened. Popmart was founded in 2010 in China. It entered The SoNo Collection on October 11, 2019. Popmart is known for their unique collectible figurines, many of which are a part of popular collaborations with various artists and brands.
Popmart has expanded in terms of their physical stores as well as having immense online presence in numerous countries. Popmart has also been skyrocketing in marketing through TikTok, Instagram, spreading advertisements of new products, collaborations, etc.
My mother, my sister and I went on a day trip to The SoNo Collection and actually visited Popmart’s physical store. At first glance, it was very aesthetically pleasing. The overall store front view is very organized, clean, and well put together. Outside of the store before you walk in, there’s always an updated advertisement board with the latest collaboration that is most popular among customers. I have previously visited Popmart once before, but I had always ordered from the online store, so I was familiar with the genre of items they sell. When I had gone, the overall stock included collectible series exclusively created by Popmart designers, and other merchandise associated with those different collaborations, such as phone cases, tote bags, blankets, plushies, keychains, cups, etc.
Even though Popmart has been known generally for figurines, there was this one particular collaboration that skyrocketed the increase in popularity towards Popmart. In 2015, Hong-Kong born and Netherlands raised artist, Kasing Lung, became the designer of a toy series called “The Monsters” going under the more common name, “Labubus.” In 2019, he then signed a licensing deal with Popmart to sell these toys. Furthermore, the real game changer came in April 2024, when Blackpink’s Lisa posted about “Labubu” on her social media. Furthermore, with Lisa being a Thai native, her endorsement of “Labubus” sparked a full-blown Labubu frenzy, and the rest is history.
Labubus probably are recently the most popular collectible available in Popmart stores online and in person. Since I went with my sister, Sophia Duarte, to Popmart, I asked her what she particularly liked about Popmart and she stated, “I like how they offer a variety of different high quality items and blind boxes that really reel you in. I never get tired of buying from Popmart because everything you buy is always all different, unique series made by different artists, giving someone like me, who loves to collect, things to enjoy.”
In terms of recommendation, I would say it is a very good and promising store. It has a lot of diversity inside and on the online catalogs. Popmart’s fan base doesn’t necessarily have an age limit or anything like that, but, the main age group surrounding the fanbase is around 15-25. When asked if she would recommend Popmart, Sophia Duarte said, “Yes I would recommend the store to other people. Even to someone who is not into blind boxes, this brand and these stores are super fun. You can go into a physical store or go online and browse through a number of different items and walk out with something you are bound to like.“ Overall, Popmart is a very unique store and holds a lot of authentic collectibles that you may not see or be able to get anywhere else. Popmart has very good reviews. The only reason I wouldn’t recommend Popmart to others is because it can hurt your wallet at times! Other than that, Popmart is definitely worth checking out, and I’d definitely go again.
The Raider Press 