Blind box hunters on Oʻahu won't have to fly to the mainland anymore. Pop Mart, the Beijing-based collectible toy company behind the viral elf-eared Labubu figures, is expected to open its first Hawaii store this August on the third level of Ala Moana Center's Ewa wing.
The opening was first reported by KITV, which described Pop Mart as a rapidly growing global leader in pop culture entertainment, known for designer art toys, collectible figures, and blind boxes. The new Honolulu location will give both local residents and visiting tourists direct access to Pop Mart's collectible shopping experience, the outlet reports, ending a period where Hawaii collectors had to order online or track down figures through resellers.
Pop Mart's arrival at Ala Moana fits a pattern the company has repeated across the country in recent months. The station's report on the Honolulu debut lands amid a broader U.S. retail push that has already brought Pop Mart storefronts to San Francisco's Union Square, Boston's Natick Mall, Los Angeles's Culver City neighborhood, and a 7,000-square-foot lease on New York's Fifth Avenue.
A Global Growth Story Built on a Tiny Elf-Eared Toy
Founded in Beijing in 2010 by Wang Ning as a small novelty boutique, Pop Mart pioneered the commercial blind box model in China by sealing artist-designed vinyl figures inside mystery packaging, according to background compiled by Wikipedia. That formula has since turned into a global phenomenon. Pop Mart reported total 2025 annual revenue of 37.12 billion yuan — roughly $5.1 billion to $5.38 billion — a 184.7% year-over-year jump, with overseas sales making up 43.8% of that total, per Guangming Online.
Much of that growth traces back to a single character line. Pop Mart's THE MONSTERS IP, which includes the now-famous Labubu figure, generated 14.16 billion yuan — about $1.96 billion — in 2025, accounting for 38.1% of the company's total turnover, according to a case study published on ResearchGate. By late 2025, Pop Mart operated 72 stores across North America and has announced plans to push that network past 100 locations by the end of 2026, Guangming Online reports, with flagship openings planned for Times Square and Fifth Avenue.
Why Ala Moana Center Keeps Landing the First-in-Hawaii Deals
Ala Moana Center has become something of a magnet for brands making their Hawaii debut, and the mall's scale explains why. Spanning more than 2.4 million square feet across four stories with over 350 stores and nearly 100 eateries, it is the world's largest open-air shopping center and Hawaii's largest mall, according to Business Insider. The mall draws roughly 52 million visitors a year, split nearly evenly between local residents and tourists, making it the busiest shopping mall in the United States by foot traffic, per data compiled by Capital One Shopping.
That foot traffic comes with a price tag. Business Insider estimates Ala Moana Center's overall asset valuation near $5.74 billion, with retail sales averaging about $1,500 per square foot — figures that place it among the most valuable malls in the nation. Honolulu's broader retail market has stayed tight heading into this stretch, with vacancy around 5.0% and prime Ala Moana Center spaces commanding rental premiums and waiting lists, according to Brevitas.
New Neighbors Arriving Alongside Pop Mart
Pop Mart won't be opening in isolation. KITV's report notes that Ala Moana Center has recently welcomed Miniso, Lume Harmony, Gorjana, and Studs, and that Aliʻi Coffee Company opened a new street-level cafe in the Ewa wing offering locally roasted coffee and fresh meals after closing one of its Ward locations — a relocation Hoodline covered in Aliʻi Coffee's move into Ala Moana.
More openings are on the way. BB Wellness and Molly Tear are both slated to open in October, alongside Nara and Kaikoa Gallery, according to the KITV report. The mall is also preparing to debut Kids City Adventure, described as bringing Honolulu's largest indoor playground to Ala Moana Center, with slides, trampolines, an indoor zipline, and various play structures spread across more than 42,000 square feet.
A Company Navigating Life After the Hype Peak
Pop Mart's Hawaii debut arrives as the company works to prove its growth can outlast the initial Labubu craze. The global blind box figures market was valued at $6.8 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $17.4 billion by 2034, according to Dataintelo, a trajectory fueled largely by social media unboxing content and collectible culture. But after explosive speculative growth in 2024 and 2025 driven partly by celebrity endorsements, secondary-market resale premiums for Pop Mart figurines showed signs of cooling by mid-2026 as factory supply caught up with demand, according to a report from CEIBS.
For Hawaii collectors, that cooling secondary market may make the new Ala Moana storefront even more appealing, since it offers a chance to buy directly at retail rather than through resellers. The Honolulu opening also slots into a string of national brand debuts at the mall, following Hoodline's earlier coverage of Skims plotting its own Hawaii first. With its blend of local shoppers and international tourists, Ala Moana Center remains the venue global retailers reach for when they're ready to test the Hawaii market.
