POP MART Sets Up Shop at Universal CityWalk Hollywood, Replacing Take 2

POP MART moved into the former Take 2 discount merchandise space at Universal CityWalk Hollywood, with construction walls confirmed up around the vacant unit as of April 5. No opening date or timetable has been announced, but the fit-out activity signals the brand behind LABUBU is actively building out one of its most strategically positioned U.S. retail locations yet.

Take 2, a discount closeout shop, had recently shuttered when POP MART stepped into the vacancy at the entertainment and retail promenade attached to Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles. The location puts LABUBU well outside the specialty collector circuit and directly into the path of the tourists, families, and pop-culture fans who cycle through CityWalk year-round.

That audience distinction matters. POP MART has been methodically pushing into destination retail formats, including flagship leases in major cities and entertainment district placements, where novelty merchandise and impulse purchases outperform the conventional mall model. A CityWalk address drops LABUBU into a corridor where visitors are already primed to spend on experiences and keepsakes, many of them encountering the figures for the first time with credit card in hand.

The proximity to Universal Studios' own IP ecosystem adds another layer. CityWalk locations are natural staging grounds for timed drop events and activations tied to film and pop-culture releases, and POP MART has used that playbook at its other high-visibility retail sites. The conditions here for a collab-driven drop or a park-exclusive figure are difficult to overlook.

For collectors in Southern California, the location is worth watching closely. Once open, a CityWalk store is the kind of venue POP MART uses for regionally exclusive inventory and hosted events that pull buyers from across the metro. POP MART's social channels are the place to monitor until construction wraps and doors open.