Images of the Day: How Labubu and friends brought fun, joy and surprise through Qatar Duty Free

Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Duty Free Global from Ireland, celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere.

QATAR. Today’s images come in exhilirating video form, courtesy of the dynamic Qatar Duty Free team.

As reported, Qatar Duty Free (QDF) has partnered with the hugely popular global character collectibles retailer Pop Mart to open the brand’s first Middle East store at Doha’s Hamad International Airport (HIA).

The 100sq m boutique, inaugurated last weekend, is located at HIA’s North Node near Gate C18 (adjacent to the renowned Souq Al Matar and en route to The Orchard).

It is a key strategic addition to QDF’s retail portfolio, expanding its mix of exclusive lifestyle and fashion concepts, QDF said.

But it’s way more than that, as the video from Qatar Duty Free’s LinkedIn page illustrates. It’s about fun, joy and surprise (can you imagine an already excited child’s delight when they sight Labubu in an airport?)

As Qatar Airways Group Chief Retail & Hospitality Officer Thabet Musleh so neatly put it: “From global icons like Labubu to ever-evolving trend-driven collections, Pop Mart adds a new dimension of creativity and fun to our retail mix.

“It perfectly aligns with our vision to surprise travellers with exclusive, experience-centric concepts that set new trends and raise the benchmark for what travel retail can be.”

Can be. Or in Qatar Duty Free’s case already is.

Cutting-edge retail: Qatar Airways Group Chief Retail & Hospitality Officer Thabet Musleh (third from right) leads the traditional store-opening ceremony. Pictured with him are (from left) Qatar Duty Free Vice President Strategy & Commercial Nuno Moreira; Hamad International Airport Chief Operating Officer Hamad Al Khater; Pop Mart International Group Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer Justin Moon; Pop Mart Asia Pacific Head of Southeast Asia & Middle East Jeremy Lee; and Pop Mart Asia Pacific Marketing Director Eva Zhao
The launch was highlighted by a fashion show which saw models on the catwalk carrying Pop Mart collectibles
Labubu is a hugely popular line of collectible plush toys created by Hong Kong illustrator Kasing Lung

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