Labubus, the fluffy monsters seen dangling from fashionistas' handbags, have taken the world by storm – but getting the right one is not as easy as you might think.

Demand for the plush toys has even reached the Grand Duchy

The labubus were invented in 2015 by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, but weren't marketed on a global scale until they were produced by Chinese manufacturer Pop Mart in 2019.

In 2024, the toys were used as fashion accessories by stars such as Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Kim Kardashian, sparking a worldwide trend. The toys are sold in blind packaging, hiding the character inside until the moment of purchase.

"Three52", a Luxembourgish hype store, sells all manner of trendy items, and naturally stocks labubus. Co-founder Christophe Afonso told RTL that the shop initially only sold the toys at specific times, offering their customers selected appointment times.

They observed large queues for the popular plushes, as people came to the shop early in the morning despite the sales not launching until the afternoon. As a result, the shop changed their strategy and sought out a middleman supplier, enabling them to sell the toys on a permanent basis.

This additional supplier is needed for a good reason. Customers have to spend between 60 and 90 euros per toy, significantly more than on the official website, but they are difficult to obtain from the manufacturer and take a long time to ship from China otherwise.

Shoppers are also unlikely to buy just one labubu, as the purpose is to collect the different characters, and the blind box packaging makes it impossible to know what is inside.

And yet the trend persists, as hundreds of people queued for hours in July when Pop Mart opened a store in Berlin. Many even camped overnight in order to purchase one of the odd-looking toys, with large eyes and sharp teeth. With numerous different collections, each with limited quantities produced, Pop Mart is ensuring that demand stays high and that many of the toys are seen as collector's items – with prices to match.

"Three52" say they once sold 500 of the soft toys in one day. Demand has slowed a little since, but they still sell a few hundred every 24 hours, particularly via their website. However, they predict the trend is likely to tail off by October, when shoppers will start to look elsewhere for the next trend.

Video report in Luxembourgish:

Labubu-Hype och zu Lëtzebuerg
Och hei am Land ass d'Demande richteg grouss, fir de Wonsch-Petzi ze kréien, ass et awer net sou einfach.