Pokémon sub-brand schedules event roughly six weeks after Pokémon Center stabbing.
Pokémon baby apparel and toy brand Monpoké is getting ready to open a popup store in the Tobu Department Store’s Ikebukuro branch in downtown Tokyo. The Tobu branch is located in the same neighborhood as the Sunshine City shopping center, where on March 26 a woman working at the Pokémon Center retail store was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend.
Following the incident, the Pokémon Company announced that it would be scaling back in-store Pokémon Center promotional events nationwide, including cancelling costumed character meet-and-greets for the month of April. While the Monpoké popup will be opening before the end of April, it’ll be operating through early May, and has announced that it will be having meet-and-greets, suggesting that they’re likely to return to Pokémon Center stores around the same time.
The Monpoké shop will be open from April 22 to May 6. There are no meet-and-greets during its first weekend, but on its second Sunday, May 3, both Pikachu and Eevee will be visiting to frolic with fans and pose for pictures in the building’s rooftop Sky Deck Plaza.
It does appear that the organizers are looking to keep the environment controlled, with participation limited to 30 “groups” of shoppers at each of the three 30-minute events, scheduled for 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m. (it’s currently unclear how many people will be allowed per group). Still, the announcement of the Monpoké store’s meet-and-greets coming roughly two weeks after the stabbing demonstrates that the company feels ready to start holding such events again, and with Japan’s Golden Week vacation period coming up from April 29 to March 6, an early-March reinstatement of such events at Pokémon Center branches seems likely as well.
Source: PR Times via Ikebukuro Keizai Shimbun
Images: PR Times
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