Labubu craze grows in Barcelona with second store opening

"The craze for Labubu dolls little monsters that are objectively ugly and terrifying, yet inexplicably endearing and adorable at the same time has taken Barcelona by storm this summer, and it could well transform the commercial fabric of the city center. These dolls and their sister collections are mainly sold in blind boxes (no one knows which one they are buying) and for prices ranging from 15 ($17,50) to 1,200 ($1405). Barcelona was already the only city in Spain with official stores selling these little monsters, and as of this Friday, it is one of the few European capitals with two stores open at the same time."

"Last July, Pop Mart, the company that sells them, opened a store in the heart of the Catalan capital: in Portal de l'Angel. Several weeks have passed since then, and there are still daily lines of shoppers willing to dig deep into their pockets in exchange for the Asian-style dolls. The business surrounding this geek phenomenon has taken over the center of the Catalan capital to such an extent until now, anime, manga and geek culture were confined to a very specific area of town located around the Arc de Triomf, or else in the Galerias Malda that Pop Mart on Friday opened a Labubu boutique in the downtown shopping center El Triangle."

"Susana and Costin (many buyers of this type of item have chosen to change their names) are from Alicante, further south along the Mediterranea coast, and came to Barcelona to go to Port Aventura, the amusement park. We took a break the other day to come to the Portal de l'Angel store, and this morning we did it again to rush to this store, admits Susana. When they arrived, with the doors still closed, they encountered dozens of people who had spent the night in line."

Barcelona has become a major hotspot for Labubu dolls, grotesque-yet-adorable collectible figures sold mainly in blind boxes with prices from 15 to 1,200 euros. Pop Mart opened a Portal de l'Angel store in July and later a boutique in the El Triangle shopping center, leaving Barcelona as one of the few European capitals with two official outlets. Daily queues and overnight campers form at both locations, with buyers traveling from other regions and some choosing to change their names. The surge has shifted anime, manga and geek-culture commerce from Arc de Triomf and Galerias Maldà into the downtown shopping district and could transform the city center's commercial fabric.

Read at english.elpais.com