Lotte Duty Free opens Ginza Friends character store in Tokyo

[Courtesy of Lotte Duty Free Store]

South Korea’s Lotte Duty Free Store has opened a character store at its outlet in Ginza, Tokyo, the company said on Thursday.

Ginza Friends, the 509 square meter store, is a specialty shop featuring animated characters. It offers more than 3,000 products, including its signature pink bear, Bellygom.

Bellygom is an animated bear created by Lotte Home Shopping in 2018. It has generated cumulated sales of more than 20 billion won ($14.5 million) from its intellectual property (IP) business as of June.

Ginza Friends also features other Korean characters and brands, as well as products from globally popular cartoons such as One Piece and Pokemon.

Lotte Duty Free has transformed its existing boutique and luxury brand watch sections into character toy and accessory stores, expanding its product range to cater to a diverse range of customers.

As part of the opening event, Lotte Duty Free is offering stickers to all customers who spend over 5,000 yen ($31.02) at Ginza Friends.

Depending on the purchase amount, customers can also receive additional character merchandise such as fans and badges.