Singapore’s first ever LINE Pop-up store opens with giveaways

SINGAPORE — There were no overnight queues, but a small crowd had gathered this morning (April 30) at the Grand Steps of Wisma Atria for the official opening of Singapore’s first ever LINE Pop-up store.

When TODAY arrived at about 10.15am, about 30 people were in the queue. The numbers gradually swelled to nearly a 100 as it came closer to opening time at 11am.

The store’s first customer, Ms Wong Keelan, 56, had waited in line since 10.10am and was among the 100 customers who walked away with a free LINE mini doll which was worth S$14.

Ms Wong, a frequent user of the Line chat app, said that she wanted buy the merchandises specifically for her daughter who was a fan of the mobile platform’s games. The housewife also added that she had attended previous LINE events.

All shoppers at the Pop-up store today also were able to enjoy the 10 per cent discount with a LINE coupon.

Mr Marcus Chai, who was in the middle of the queue, mentioned that he was attracted to the aesthetics of the store when he first saw it and that the store’s cartoon concept tempted him to purchase the merchandise. The 20-year-old Temasek Polytechnic student also added that the app allowed him to “interact in a fun and easy way” with his friends.

The chat app hopes that the Pop-up store will help to increase the satisfaction of their current users through offline activities.

“We don’t think that LINE is competing with other messengers directly but we want to provide a whole mobile experience,” said Mr Simeon Cho, the General Manager of LINE Business Development Division.

With Pop-up stores already opened in several Asian countries such as Seoul, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong, Mr Cho added they were happy to be in Singapore.

Prices of the LINE products start at S$2.50 for a LINE sticker card. The store will open till May 22, with appearances from LINE’s popular characters, Brown and Cony, every Saturday and Sunday.