POP MART opens first Cebu pop-up, expands Labubu access in Visayas

POP MART brought its blind-box hunt to Ayala Center Cebu, giving Visayas collectors their first official local access point and changing the way Labubu and The Monsters are bought outside Metro Manila. The pop-up opened on June 5, 2026, and it matters immediately because it is the brand’s first location outside the capital.

For collectors who have been chasing Labubu through Metro Manila trips, shipping delays, or the resale market, the Cebu stop changes the math. The new pop-up gives buyers a closer place to compare boxes in person, check what is actually on hand, and skip the extra cost and uncertainty of moving inventory across islands. It also gives Visayas shoppers a cleaner path to official stock, which has mattered more as Labubu demand has kept running hot.

That demand is still the backdrop here. Reuters reported in October 2025 that The Monsters series made up more than a third of POP MART’s first-half revenue, while POP MART said it had increased plush-toy supply by 10 times in 2025 and was producing around 30 million units a month. Even with that ramp-up, Reuters said it was still almost impossible to buy a Labubu from a POP MART store during the summer sales boom. Sid Si, POP MART’s executive director and co-COO, compared the pressure to concert-ticket scarcity.

That is why the Cebu pop-up is more than a regional ribbon-cutting. It gives Visayas buyers a better shot at official release stock before it leaks into resale channels, where prices can swing hard when supply changes. It also makes the first move easier to time. In a market where stock can move quickly, the smartest queue strategy is simple: get there early, treat the official shelf as the first stop, and do not assume a second visit will look the same.

The pop-up also broadens the hunt beyond Labubu alone. POP MART said the Cebu space features CRYBABY merchandise and other character lines from its wider portfolio, which means the store is built for collectors who follow character drops across the brand, not just one breakout figure. That wider mix should help keep foot traffic moving, but it also raises the odds that the most sought-after figures disappear fast.

Labubu’s rise was already supercharged by celebrity fans including Blackpink’s Lisa, Rihanna and David Beckham. Now POP MART has brought that pull to Cebu, and for Visayas collectors the shift is straightforward: the chase no longer starts with a flight to Manila, but with a mall stop that could reshape how fast official stock sells and how much power the secondary market keeps.