{"id":166509,"date":"2026-03-17T19:25:24","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:25:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/166509\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T19:25:24","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T19:25:24","slug":"hello-kitty-pop-up-opening-day-draws-hundreds-to-tangram-for-exclusive-miniso-merch-collection-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/166509\/","title":{"rendered":"Hello Kitty pop-up opening day draws hundreds to Tangram for exclusive Miniso merch collection \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"hello\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Hundreds of Hello Kitty and Friends fans lined up for the limited-time Sanrio-themed pop up at Tangram Mall in Flushing on March 14, anxiously awaiting their chance to shop exclusive merchant Miniso\u2019s first-ever pop-up in the United States.<\/p>\n

Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

\t\t Search our comprehensive guide to things to do in Queens<\/a> for more local events \u2014 or submit your own<\/a>!<\/p>\n

Hello Kitty and Friends officially took over Tangram Mall<\/a> in Flushing<\/a> this past Saturday when hundreds of Sanrio fans lined up for Miniso\u2019s limited-time pop-up, open now through April 5.<\/p>\n

Excited guests arrived as early as 2:30 a.m., camping outside the mall so they could be first inside the shop that features over 500 Sanrio-themed items, including t-shirts, socks, tote bags, makeup bags, accessories, keychains, figurines, home goods, cosmetics, snacks and a variety of exclusive blind boxes.<\/p>\n

This is the first time Miniso, a Chinese lifestyle brand, has brought the pop-up to the United States, making it a high-traffic destination for Sanrio<\/a> fans across New York City.<\/p>\n

Carlos Ayala, manager of the pop-up for Miniso USA, said the team was expecting a large crowd on its opening day based on previous experiences with pop-ups at Tangram, but it was still exciting to see the overwhelming response it got.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good feeling,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m happy everyone is enjoying it, including the staff and customers. And I\u2019m happy the community is getting involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Shoppers inside the pop-up choose from over 500 Sanrio products, filling baskets with items like plushies, apparel, accessories and blind boxes. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

Suzeth Wilson-Thomas, the East Coast regional manager at Miniso, said after taking a survey, the team realized there was a huge demand for Sanrio IP in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Miniso is relatively new to the East Coast, so Wilson-Thomas said the pop-up was a great opportunity to connect fans with their merchandise.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cEven when we first opened up, I noticed there was a lot of love from Hello Kitty fans,\u201d she explained. \u201cShe\u2019s a legend, you know? It\u2019s a childhood memory for most people, going back to a time when they were young and excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Ayala, the pop-up\u2019s facade took about two days to construct in the lobby of the mall, and it took another two days to complete the displays and stock all the items.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Not only does the pop-up generate a lot of business on its own, he said, but it helps attract customers to other stores in the mall. He said this pop-up is expected to generate over $1 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unique,\u201d Ayala said. \u201cIt\u2019s just a good experience that\u2019s enjoyable for everyone.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Not only is the pop-up fun for long-time Hello Kitty fans, Wilson-Thomas added, but it\u2019s a great opportunity for fans to share it with friends and pass it along to their children.<\/p>\n

\"\"Fans of all ages were drawn to the pop-up for an up-close look at merchandise featuring their favorite characters, perfect for photo-ops both inside and outside the shop. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n

Emily A., who arrived at Tangram at 6:30 a.m., bought over $200 of merchandise during her visit to the pop-up. Not only did she buy a t-shirt and a few blind boxes, but she also got the free Miniso tote bag in the brand\u2019s iconic red color.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was worth the wait,\u201d she said, laughing. \u201cIf I came later, I would\u2019ve still been waiting in line with no additional merch.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

She said the pop-up was a great opportunity for her to stock up on collectibles not only for herself, but for her friend who lives out of state.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what makes it even more special for me,\u201d Emily said. \u201cI can get something for her the same way she would do for me.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Andrea M., whose favorite Sanrio characters are Badtz-Maru and My Melody, said she often travels around the world shopping for exclusive merchandise, so she couldn\u2019t resist the pop-up.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She said the shop\u2019s attention to detail really stood out to her, and there were so many items to choose from. She stocked up on blind boxes filled with Hello Kitty and Sanrio collectibles during her visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s special,\u201d she said. \u201cI didn\u2019t realize how much stuff they have. I just wish it was even bigger!\u201d\n<\/p>\n

Lassana A. said her friend sent her an invite to the pop-up, which she immediately jumped on. As a lifelong fan of Hello Kitty, getting access to exclusive merch was a huge draw for her.<\/p>\n

She purchased a plushie and two blind boxes, as well as some items from the tennis collection for her mother.\n<\/p>\n

One of the best parts about the pop-up, Lassana said, was how many different demographics of people it attracted.\n<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s honestly so cool to see just a diverse group of people,\u201d Lassana said. \u201cYou would think it would be a certain demographic, but there\u2019s Black and Brown people too. And we all just love Sanrio.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about Miniso, visit their U.S. website, Miniso-US.com<\/a>, or visit Miniso.com<\/a> for the scoop on all pop-ups and events around the world.<\/p>\n

\"\"A display outside the pop-up teases just a few of the items available for purchase inside the Miniso pop-up. Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
\n\"\"Photo by Renee DeLorenzo
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\n\"\"Photo by Renee DeLorenzo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hundreds of Hello Kitty and Friends fans lined up for the limited-time Sanrio-themed pop up at Tangram Mall…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":166510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[310,68295,68296,9,24,63,1164,122,124,123,57545,53427],"class_list":["post-166509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-daily-newsletter","tag-hello-kitty","tag-miniso","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-pop-up","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-tangram","tag-tangram-mall"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=166509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/166509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/166510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=166509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=166509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=166509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}