Amid slowing luxury sales and declining foot traffic, Plaza 66 — Hong Kong developer Hang Lung’s flagship mall in Shanghai — is turning to popular plush toy brand Jellycat in a bid to attract shoppers beyond its core VIP clientele.
Dubbed Jellycat Café, the playful pop-up spans the mall’s ground-floor atrium, a fourth-floor storefront and an outdoor display booth. Decked out in a Tiffany & Co.-like blue hue, Jellycat’s Plaza 66 takeover officially launched on Thursday to considerable fanfare.
Due to the popularity of the toy brand, shoppers must first make a reservation on its WeChat’s Mini Program before they can queue up on the ground. While slots are hard to come by, a new batch will be released every Monday at noon. No closing date has been revealed for the pop-up.
Jellycat’s retail takeover at Plaza 66.
Courtesy of Jellycat
Jellycat — the British equivalent of Beanie Babies — was founded as a high-end children’s toy brand in London in 1999. It was rediscovered by Gen Z TikTok influencers in recent years who styled the cuddly toy as home decor and emotional support items.
Inspired by the trend, the concept of Jellycat Diner began popping up in New York, Paris and London, where shop assistants doubled as chefs whipping up pretend desserts made by the plushies.
Jellycat opened its first Shanghai pop-up at the neighboring Kerry Center last year, pulling in more than 1.2 million renminbi, or $168,000, in sales on launch day, according to local media reports.
For the brand’s second pop-up in Shanghai, Jellycat introduced seven new toys inspired by Chinese tea culture and local florals. Prices range from 399 renminbi, or around $55, to 439 renminbi, or $61.
A tea pot-shaped toy Jellycat designed for the Plaza 66 pop-up.
Courtesy of Jellycat
To further drive traffic, Jellycat has enlisted the Chinese celebrity Yang Mi to make a public appearance at the pop-up on Monday, based on information shared by fans on Xiaohongshu, China‘s popular social media platform.
For James Macdonald, head of Savills Research for China, Plaza 66’s move unveils a clear theme of “landlords catching on to cultural trends — whether that’s Labubu, Jellycat or other intellectual property-driven products,” Macdonald said.
“These brands resonate across the spectrum, appealing not just to the mass market but to luxury consumers as well. They’re collectibles, and positioning them through pop-ups shows that landlords are current and in tune with consumer sentiment,” Macdonald added.
“Ultimately, it reflects an understanding that consumer desires cut across categories — being a luxury shopper doesn’t mean you’re not also interested in the latest trend,” he added.
Plaza 66, the undisputed star of West Nanjing Road’s luxury scene, ceded its spotlight this summer to HKRI Taikoo Hui, where Louis Vuitton’s life-size cruise ship “The Louis” became one of the city’s most popular tourist sites.
Since its opening in mid-June, the experimental project has driven a 25 percent increase in total sales across the West Nanjing Road thoroughfare. Seventy-five percent of visitors were tourists and the average visitor stayed nearly six hours at the HKRI Taikoo Hui shopping mall, according to data shared by the district government.
To strengthen its standing as Shanghai’s top luxury retail destination, Plaza 66 will open an extension building to “cater to the evolving tastes of discerning consumers who are increasingly prioritizing personalized and exceptional experiences. New concepts of retail, dining, wellness and lifestyle as well as event spaces will be introduced to the Pavilion Extension,” the company said.
For the first half of 2025, Plaza 66 reported a decline of 8 percent in tenant sales as “consumers demonstrated more restrained high-end spending,” according to Hang Lung’s latest financial report. Occupancy rate stabled at 98 percent and revenue inched up 0.3 percent to 822 million renminbi, or $115 million.
