Pop Mart, maker of popular Labubus, opens at Mall of America

Alicia Eler, Star Tribune on Nov 2, 2025

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Ugly-cute Labubus now will creep out Minnesotans at the Mall of America.

Pop Mart soft-launched its first Minnesota location on Monday (Oct. 27). By Wednesday afternoon, eager customers and curious mallgoers alike flocked to the store, ooohing and ahhing over creepy-cute Labubus, adorable Molly figurines, emotional Hirono characters, charming Duckoo figures and more.

There weren’t many Labubus in stock for the soft launch. Pop Mart will bring in more for the Nov. 8 grand opening. The store also will sell Skullpandas toys and other sold-out items from previous collections, but didn’t specify which ones.

“Mall of America is obviously an amazing store and we are so excited to be in it,” said Pop Mart PR & Celebrity Relations Manager Marco Negrete, who’s based in Los Angeles.

Pop Mart sells more than just the popular collectible toy character Labubu, a delightfully ugly furry creature with jagged teeth and big eyes. Labubus went viral after people spotted Rihanna, K-pop star Lisa from Blackpink and Dua Lipa flaunting them.

People first spotted Rihanna with a Labubu in February, but Lisa from Blackpink is said to have kicked off the trend in April 2024.

Buying a Labubu and any other Pop Mart toy is a gamble. They’re sold in “blind boxes,” so each purchase is a mystery ― and that adds to the excitement of collecting them all. Blind boxes for collectible toys range from $4.99 to $294.99.

Alberto Cienega, 25, of Brooklyn Park excitedly browsed the Hirono collection. After hearing about the store on Pop Mart’s Instagram, he showed up on Wednesday looking for the new Halloween Hirono collection. It wasn’t in stock.

He learned about Pop Mart a year ago when his partner Ember told him about the Labubu craze. He bought his first Labubu in New York in February.

The couple collected five plush Labubus, then branched out to Hironos. Now they have about 20.

“It’s kind of like that kid feeling again,” Cienega said. “I’m an adult, but it’s like when you were little, when you would go out there trying to find a toy.”

Mostly adults shopped Wednesday afternoon.

Petra Jacobsen, 25, of White Bear Lake, usually buys Pop Mart collectibles online but raced over to the mall when she heard about the new store. She mostly collects the Duckoos and Demon Slayer figurines, but her co-workers go wild for Labubus.

“They’re kinda ugly,” she said. “The smile creeps me out.”

Gabriella Onikoro-Arkell, 30, of Minneapolis, grabbed three boxes of Peach Riot toys.

She came to Pop Mart with her co-workers from Momo Cafe, but first discovered Pop Mart with her sister during the pandemic.

“The first goal is to get the figure you want, and then the second goal is to get all of them,” Onikoro-Arkell said.

She’s open to other toys that catch her eye but wanted to be careful about her spending. Collecting can be an expensive hobby.

“The response to Pop Mart’s soft opening has been overwhelmingly positive,” Mall of America spokeswoman Madison Amland said. “Our guests have been eagerly awaiting this opening.”

Pop Mart has 57 stores nationwide.

Minnesotans got a taste of Labubus in June, when Pop Mart launched two Labubu vending machines at the Rosedale Center. Some vendors even sold fake Labubus at the Minnesota State Fair in August.

The Mall of America Pop Mart store is on the north side of Level 1 at 119 North Garden in Bloomington. It’s open 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Sun.