A friendly Asian invasion is taking up some of the retail-space slack from recent departures of sportswear and jewelry shops from Times Square.
The largest is soon to come — a 7,000 square-foot emporium for Chinese-owned PopMart, makers of creepy but cuddly Labubu dolls, in Vornado’s space at 1540 Broadway. Another Chinese brand, TopToy, will open soon in a highly visible, 2,000 square-foot corner of SL Green’s 1515 Broadway.
They’ll join China-owned novelty shop Miniso at 5 Times Square; Japan’s collectibles brand Tamashi Nations at 1500 Broadway; South Korean cartoon-character mecca Line Friends, which bills itself as “K-Pop Square,” at 1515 Broadway; and Chinese-import Hey Tea at 1565 Broadway.
The new and recent leases have filled “Bowtie” locations which more than a few established retailers left in recent years — among them, Express, Swarovski, Express, Oakley, Ray-Ban and MAC. The novelty merchants might have wider appeal to families making their way through Times Square’s human zoo of Elmos and other costumed characters.
Cushman & Wakefield ’s retail leasing legend, Joanne Podell, who represented both Miniso and TopToy with her firm’s Michael Shalom in negotiations, said of the Asian fun-toy influx, “It is a trend.” She noted that the products aren’t only for kids — “Adults are collecting them. They make you smile.”
The new arrivals have local merchants and business advocates smiling, too.
Times Square Alliance president Tom Harris said, “For over a hundred years people have been coming to Times Square to play. The addition of these toy stores adds another playful layer to the already complex and diverse Times Square landscape.”
They’re bringing joy to landlords as well. Times Square sources said PopMart’s ground-floor rent at the multilevel store at 1540 Broadway is an astonishing $2,000 per square foot.
The Hey Tea space at 1565 Broadway was reported by the Commercial Observer to have an asking rent of $4 million a year for 2,390 square feet — or an impressive $1673 per square foot.