Qatar Duty Free has partnered with Pop Mart to unveil the Chinese collectibles brand’s first store in the Middle East, blending a travel retail experience with pop culture. 

Located at Hamad International Airport, the store features a culture-inspired theme that caters to travellers with an engaging retail experience and offering ‘beloved’ characters of the brand.

To celebrate the store opening, a travel-oriented fashion show featuring flight-ready looks, with Pop Mart collectables as accessories, debuted during the grand opening, alongside international influencers and Pop Mart fans.

The launch also features an exclusive collection of travel-inspired Pop Mart collectibles, called ‘Twinkle Twinkle Wonderful Journey Series’, including travel accessories such as bags, U-shaped pillow and card holders. 

“Partnering with Pop Mart to bring this first-in-the-region concept to Hamad International airport reflects our drive to keep redefining airport and even regional retail,” said Thabet Musleh, Qatar Airways Group’s chief retail and hospitality officer.

“It perfectly aligns with our vision to surprise travellers with exclusive, experience-centric concepts that set new trends and raise the benchmark for what travel retail can be,” he said.

“By blending Qatar’s rich culture with our playful characters, we’re building more than a retail space; we’re creating a global benchmark for how pop culture connects with local communities,” said Justin Moon, senior VP and COO of Pop Mart International Group.

The duty-free opening follows Pop Mart’s first debut in the Middle East at Abu Dhabi in May, while the ‘ugly-cute’ collectable brand saw an increase in sales amid its Labubu figures craze.