Hong Kong airport opens pop-up cluster

Airport Authority Hong Kong has assembled a landside cluster of branded retail concepts at Hong Kong International Airport, adding character-led shopping aimed at both departing passengers and non-traveling visitors, according to a May 16 images feature by The Moodie Davitt Report. The group includes Pop Mart, Disneyland, Sanrio, Chiikawa and several other pop-ups in the departures area, the trade publication reported. The airport operator said the concept has been “well-received by passengers and the airport community alike.” The move fits a broader Airport Authority Hong Kong push to make the airport a destination beyond flight processing. In January 2025, the authority launched its “Skytopia” Airport City brand and said the development would combine commercial activity, popular culture, art, entertainment and leisure around Hong Kong International Airport. Chairman Fred Lam said at the launch that the authority wanted HKIA to be “not just a place for passengers to board their flights or a portal for entering Hong Kong.” (moodiedavittreport.com) ### Which brands are in the landside cluster? The Moodie Davitt Report said the landside departures cluster includes Pop Mart, Disneyland, Sanrio, Chiikawa and several pop-ups at Hong Kong International Airport. The article was presented as an “Images of the Day” feature and attributed the curation to Airport Authority Hong Kong. Hong Kong International Airport has been building out landside retail and food-and-beverage offers for several years. (moodiedavittreport.com) A separate Moodie Davitt report from 2024 highlighted the opening of a Godiva Café in the landside departures zone and described the airport’s retail offer as regularly changing. ### Why does the Pop Mart store stand out inside the mix? Pop Mart has been “performing particularly strongly since its opening in 2024,” The Moodie Davitt Report said in the May 16 feature. (moodiedavittreport.com) The publication also said the store had generated “countless Instagrammable moments” since opening in August 2024, though that characterization came from the trade outlet’s report rather than a disclosed sales filing from the airport. (moodiedavittreport.com) Pop Mart’s official Hong Kong store locator lists a Hong Kong International Airport shop in Terminal 1, departures level L7, unit 7T084, and identifies it as outside the restricted area. The listing shows daily operating hours of 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m., indicating the store is accessible landside rather than only to ticketed passengers past security. ### What does “landside” change for who can shop there? Terminal 1’s landside location means the cluster is available to airport users before security screening and, in principle, to airport visitors who are not flying that day. (moodiedavittreport.com) The Moodie Davitt Report explicitly said the concept had been received by “passengers and the airport community alike,” pointing to a target audience wider than outbound travelers alone. (m.popmart.com) Airport Authority Hong Kong has been explicit about that wider audience in its Airport City planning. At the January 2025 Skytopia launch, the authority said it wanted to attract visitors from Hong Kong, the Greater Bay Area and other Asian markets through a mix of retail, leisure and entertainment projects around the airport estate. (moodiedavittreport.com) ### How does this fit the airport’s wider commercial plan? Airport Authority Hong Kong said in January 2025 that Skytopia would include projects ranging from art facilities and a marina to a promenade, sports-entertainment venues and expanded exhibition space. The authority presented those projects as part of an “Airport City” blueprint designed to broaden the airport’s commercial role. (moodiedavittreport.com) The May 16 landside retail cluster sits inside that same direction of travel, based on the authority’s own description of mixing commerce with popular culture. The airport’s next public markers on that strategy are likely to come through additional tenant announcements and project updates tied to the Skytopia development program, which Airport Authority Hong Kong unveiled to business leaders on January 16, 2025. (moodiedavittreport.com)