LINE FRIENDS to Open First Official U.S. Store in New York's Time Square in July

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Mar 06, 2017, 08:00 ET

The opening of 430 sq m store commemorates LINE FRIENDS becoming first Asian character brand to open a large-scale official store in the U.S., and one-year anniversary of LINE's listing on NYSE

SEOUL, South Korea, March 6, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- LINE FRIENDS, one of the world's fastest growing character brands, will open its first official store in the U.S. in Times Square in New York City this upcoming July. The opening of the 430-square-meter store commemorates LINE FRIENDS becoming the first Asian character brand to open a large-scale official store in the U.S., and also the one year-anniversary of LINE's listing on the New York Stock Exchange. LINE FRIENDS has in recent years opened stores in 11 other countries and regions including U.S, Mainland China, Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, demonstrating its rapid growth in popularity. The brand also generated heavy public buzz when it operated a pop-up store in New York City in 2014.

LINE FRIENDS, a global character brand, will open its first official U.S. store (430 square meters) this upcoming July in Times Square, New York City

"LINE FRIENDS is excited to open its first official store in the U.S. in Times Square, a major commercial center and one of the world's most popular tourist and entertainment hubs visited by 330,000 people daily," said an official at LINE FRIENDS. "The opening of our first store in New York City highlights the rapid popularity our beloved characters are gaining not just in Asia, but in North America and other countries around the world. We will continue in our mission of bringing joy to more and more consumers."

The LINE FRIENDS store in New York will feature a large-scale 430 square meter (approximately 4,628 square foot) retail space and be located at the prime location of 1515 Broadway, also home to the renowned Lion King musical. To further draw passerby attention, the store will uniquely display its variety of brand content with other brands on large-scale LED billboards.

To date, LINE FRIENDS has opened a total of 73 official and pop-up stores in countries around the world. Additionally, LINE FRIENDS regularly collaborates with various renowned brands such as LAMY and Moleskine to further grow its global reach and appeal.

"In the meantime, LINE FRIENDS will participate in the "Las Vegas Licensing Expo 2017," the world's largest licensing trade show, this May and will install the biggest independent booth in history, as an Asian character brand."

Overview of LINE FRIENDS Stores

Total number of stores worldwide: 73
Countries and regions: 11 (Including U.S, Korea, Mainland China, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan)

About LINE FRIENDS

LINE FRIENDS was created as sticker characters of top mobile messenger application "LINE", with is 220 million active users globally. Users send around 2.4 million stickers in their daily conversations, making the 11 characters their tool for communication. With 'Brown', "Choco" and "Cony" as its signature characters, LINE FRIENDS has more than 5,000 character products, animations, mobile games, cafes, hotels and even theme parks all around the world. In March 2015, LINE FRIENDS has been separated as an independent company. Having had opened 73 stores globally, LINE FRIENDS is implementing aggressive strategies based on stable sales in cities including Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Hong Kong, and Seoul. LINE FRIENDS has collaborated with various renown brands such as LAMY, UNIQLO, L'occitane, Brompton, Samsung Electronics, Swarovski, Moleskine, Bearbrick etc.

For more information please visit: www.LINEFRIENDS.com

SOURCE LINE FRIENDS