S'pore man, 41, burns S$10,000 on Labubu dolls in 1 month

When Blackpink member Lisa revealed that she owned Labubu dolls back in April 2024, Singapore found itself gripped by an inexplicable hype over the little monster.

Even one 41-year-old man was not immune to its charms.

Lu Tianfu (transliteration from Chinese) works in the architecture industry, but off the clock, you can find him on the hunt for Labubu.

Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Lu said that he gets his dolls from claw machines.

Big fan

Lu's arcade ventures have left him with quite an impressive collection of Labubu toys at home.

He currently possesses over 60 Labubu blind boxes, in addition to larger figurines that he bought online.

Lu visits various arcades in the west nearly every day, and has resorted to selling all that he catches now.

This particular hobby of his has set Lu back by S$10,000.

"I'm facing a lot of pressure at work," Lu admitted.

Business is la-booming

Lu is not the only one who has been bitten hard by the Labubu bug.

For the unacquainted, Labubu came from the brain of a Hong Kong-born artist Kasing Lung in 2015.

Labubu was one of the monsters introduced in Lung's Nordic folklore-inspired story series "The Monsters".

The character has since been released in more than 300 colours, shapes, and sizes, according to Kaikai Kiki Gallery.

After Lung signed an exclusive license agreement with Pop Mart in 2019, Labubu was made available in blind boxes, which further enhanced the thrill of its purchase.

But the elf-like creature seemed to only see this level of unprecedented fame when K-pop singer Lisa posted pictures of her own Labubu dolls online in early 2024.

The co-owner of ClawGey, a 24-hour claw machine store in Geylang, told Shin Min that business has climbed by 30 to 40 per cent ever since Labubu graced their shelves.

The store usually sees people in their 20s and 30s trying their luck at the machines.

"Everyone is following the craze," he said.

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Top images via Shin Min Daily News and Pop Mart