Man plays Labubu claw machines almost daily; has spent over $10k on dolls

You either love 'em or hate 'em, but the Labubu craze is still going strong in Singapore.

Now, local claw machine operators have entered the game, offering blind boxes of the popular Pop Mart character for players to try their hand at snagging one.

In the span of half an hour, avid fan Lu Tianfu (transliteration) was spotted catching three of such blind boxes at an arcade in Jurong Point on Wednesday (Oct 23).

The 41-year-old architectural consultant told Shin Min Daily News he plays the Labubu claw machines to destress.

"Work is very stressful, so I will visit different arcades in the west almost every day. Now, I sell all that I catch."

Lu added that he has over 60 Labubu blind boxes as well as larger figures purchased online in his collection. He has splashed out over $10,000 on the dolls in one month, according to the Chinese evening daily.

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And as these blind boxes are almost always out of stock at Pop Mart stores, business is booming for claw machines operators.

A Play United spokesperson told Shin Min that there has been a 30 per cent increase in sales after the firm brought in Labubu blind boxes, with restocks needed twice a week.

They intend to install more claw machines at the shopping malls if they achieve a 50 per cent increase in sales.

Over at ClawGey, a 24-hour claw machine store in Geylang, business has similarly improved by 30 per cent to 40 per cent ever since they introduced Labubu collectibles to their machines.

Co-owner Wang Yanzhi (transliteration) told Shin Min that some of their claw machines are luck-based, and others are skill-based.

"There will be more people after 9pm, most players are in their 20s and 30s. Everyone is following the craze, and we have basically all the series here," he added.

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com