Pop Mart Brings Labubu Toys to Georgetown With New M Street Location

Pop Mart is moving into 3221 M St. NW in Georgetown, Washington, D.C., taking over the former spot of Barbour, which is moving around the corner to Wisconsin Avenue. The arrival marks the brand's first standalone D.C. location: plans were filed with D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board for the company's signage at 3221 M Street NW, signaling that the brand is moving forward with its first standalone DC location.

Pop Mart is a Chinese toy company best known for selling collectible figures in a "blind box" format, meaning shoppers don't know which specific figure they'll receive until the box is opened. The company produces toys based on its own original characters, such as the wildly popular Labubu, as well as licensed themes including Disney, Harry Potter, and The Powerpuff Girls. The Georgetowner's "Business Ins & Outs" column put it plainly: "Think Hello Kitty and beyond."

Pop Mart opened a store at Fashion Centre at Pentagon City last November, and the Georgetown address would extend that D.C.-area footprint into one of the city's most prominent retail corridors. Pop Mart confirmed the plan for its headquarters, adding that the company now operates more than 60 retail stores across the U.S.

The Georgetown announcement arrives as Pop Mart cements its American infrastructure at the corporate level. The 22,000-square-foot office in Culver City will serve as Pop Mart's new U.S. headquarters, according to real estate data provider CoStar. Pop Mart has leased the Slash office building at 3534 Hayden Avenue in Culver City and is turning it into its Los Angeles corporate hub, dropping the brand directly into the Hayden Tract, a hub for creative and entertainment outfits on L.A.'s west side.

Pop Mart, founded in 2010 in Beijing, is credited with fueling the frenzy over "blind boxes," small collectible toys sold in packaging that keeps the exact figure inside a surprise until it is unsealed. The toymaker, which is publicly traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, has nearly 600 physical stores across 18 countries. Much of its recent growth has concentrated in the U.S.; in the first half of last year, the company opened 40 new stores, including 19 in the Americas.

With plans to open up to 200 stores over the next 5 to 10 years, the company is expected to capture market share in categories such as dolls, action figures, and plush toys. Georgetown's M Street corridor, already home to an Apple store and a Google store, is clearly on Pop Mart's radar as a destination that draws exactly the kind of foot traffic that turns blind box collectors into repeat visitors.