Queuing all night to hunt Labubu

Explaining about the two pillows, the 22-year-old girl said one was to reserve a spot for her cousin, who lives in Da Lat (Lam Dong) and is waiting to take a bus to Ho Chi Minh City to buy some. They share a hobby of collecting art toys called Labubu - a product designed by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung in 2015, inspired by the small, sharp-toothed monster of Norse mythology. To match contemporary trends, Labubu is dressed in its own clothes and accessories, so it is like a version expressing the "ego" of its owner. For the past half year, Labubu has become a fever in Vietnam.

"It's cute and looks great," Ngoc Anh said. She has a collection of 10 and wants to buy more Labubu from the Blind Box (a secret box with random colors) that will be available on August 15 at the store in this shopping mall.

Due to limited capacity and high demand, hundreds of people agreed to line up and reserve a spot from afternoon to the next morning. They brought food, drinks, folding chairs, mats, and pillows to spend the night.

Ngoc Anh said she stayed up almost all night. She just sat and waited while many of her friends were too tired, lying around but no one wanted to leave their seats. "At least I will be in the first group of people to get a number to enter the store," she said. "Someone waited in line the other day but had to go home empty-handed."

A representative of the mall security team said the above phenomenon occurs once a month, lasting from one to three days, depending on the new product launch of Pop Mart, the official Labubu store launched in May. Every night, about 200-500 people line up from the previous evening, waiting until 6am the next day to get a number, and then wait until 9am when the store opens to buy.

Shoppers often bring their own food, fans, and plastic tarps to spend the night, and use the restrooms at nearby convenience stores. "We even have to take pictures of people lining up to avoid lawsuits against people who came later and got in first," the representative said.

At 3am on August 16, Mong Cam asked her father to drive her 14km from Binh Tan district but was still disappointed because there were hundreds of people in front of her. Being behind so many people meant that the chance of owning the new Labubu model was very low.

She knew about Labubu for a month through videos and pictures shared on social media. Cam admitted that she is not a patient person but still could not resist Labubu's charm.

"Once I have one, I'll want a second," the 21-year-old girl said. "Buying in a store is not a risk of counterfeit goods, and the price is half that of buying from individual sellers, so I'm willing to wait." At first, Cam planned to ask her father to queue with her to buy four Labubu (the rule is that each person can only buy two). However, he hurt his foot and left first.

Thuan Nguyen, 20, arrived at 5am on August 15th and said the Labubu he was waiting to buy was currently a craze in Asia and was constantly out of stock. Thuan never thought he would like Labubu until his friend gave him his first one.

"People who buy and resell continuously increase the price. Sometimes the price on the shelf is 380,000 VND but can increase to 900,000 VND," Thuan said. "Everyone takes advantage of buying here to get the original price."

Master Le Anh Tu, lecturer of the Faculty of Public Relations and Communications, Van Lang University, Ho Chi Minh City, believes that the spread and impact of Labubu comes from many resonant communication factors, in addition to the brand's strategy.

Previously, Lisa of the Korean group Blackpink promoted this toy through her social media posts. Young people love new things, hunt for limited items and do not want to miss out on trends. Therefore, they are willing to spend time and money to conquer it.

In addition to Lisa's role, Labubu became even more famous after being "invited" by Pronounce - a famous fashion house - to the Fall/Winter 2024 collection show at Milan Fashion Week. At that time, Labubu wore a cardigan designed by Pronounce, sitting in the front row of the show, just like a real celebrity in the entertainment industry.

However, Mr. Tu said that this trend is similar to the previous Capybara (guinea pig) fever, when young people hunted to buy teddy bears, key chains, and accessories related to the image of this animal. "Labubu will maintain its 'hotness' for a few months before young people move on to a new hobby," Mr. Tu said.

But this is an opportunity for hired queuers like Nhi, 17. The girl arrives at the mall at 8 p.m. to sleep overnight, holding seats for others, ensuring they are among the first 40 people to enter the store. Nhi is paid 30,000 VND per hour, after 12 hours, she has 360,000 VND to cover expenses for the upcoming school year.

"I'm used to staying up late so I'm not too tired," Nhi said. "But it's interesting to see everyone's passion."

Data from Metric - an e-commerce statistics platform - shows that in the second quarter, Labubu-related products brought in nearly VND5.2 billion on Shopee, Lazada, and Tiktok Shop. This figure increased by 665% compared to the first quarter of the year. "This is a sudden growth rate when art toys have been a hot product in recent months," commented a Metric representative.

Labubu related products range from character models to merchandise such as T-shirts, stuffed animals, keychains, and phone cases. Prices range from VND700,000 to over VND2 million per product.