If you are a die-hard fan of the popular K-pop band BTS, you are probably reeling from the shock of the band’s decision to temporarily split. But on the heels of this grim news comes a rather thrilling announcement, at least for those in and around Burnaby.
A character line called BT21 that was inspired and curated by the “Permission to Dance” singers, is coming to Metropolis at Metrotown on June 30.
BT21 includes eight characters: Koya the sleepyhead, RJ the foodie, Shooky the prankster, Mang the dancer, pure-at-heart Chimmy, curious soul Tata, brawny-looking Cooky and the Guardian space robot Van.
The characters were introduced by LINE FRIENDS, the global character brand that originally made sticker characters for the Japanese messenger app Line, back in 2011. The brand has grown so big that there is a LINE FRIENDS hotel in Macau, a theme park in Bangkok, and a store in New York City's Times Square.
The PLAY LINE FRIENDS pop-up store in Metrotown will mark the brand’s West Coast debut. When the store opened in Toronto last year, customers waited for more than 10 hours just to get in, as per a press release. The demand was so high that the inventory was sold out in three days.
The Burnaby location, a 4,000-sq-ft space (where the Disney store used to be previously — right across the Japanese retail store Muji), is double the size of what it was in Toronto and will feature limited edition merchandise.
Customers can expect to see products exclusive to Vancouver, and popular LINE FRIENDS characters like Brown, Sally and Choco besides BT21 — as mentioned on the website of Sukoshi Mart, a retail and lifestyle brand that'll run the store in collaboration with PLAY LINE FRIENDS.
If you are among the first 300 customers to walk into the store when it opens at 9 am on June 30, you get to win a free gift. Can't make it on the opening day? Never mind, the pop-up will remain open till September 2022.
