A group of masked burglars stole an estimated $30,000 worth of high-demand Labubu dolls during a smash-and-grab break-in at a small toy store in California.
The brazen burglary occurred around 1:29 a.m. on Wednesday morning at One Stop Sales, a boutique in La Puente that has become known for selling the viral plush monster dolls, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Surveillance footage from inside the store shows at least four masked individuals smashing through the front door and targeting the wildly popular collectible dolls, bypassing electronics, the cash register, and other merchandise.
‘Today we got robbed, and they took all of our inventory, trashed our store,’ One Stop Sales wrote in an Instagram post. ‘We are still in shock.’
The burglars took dozens of boxes of Labubu dolls, totaling approximately $7,000 in retail value.
However, due to the dolls’ popularity, the collectible shop’s co-owner Joanna Avendano estimates the total cost of all the stolen merchandise to be somewhere near $30,000.
A group of masked burglars stole an estimated $30,000 worth of high-demand Labubu dolls during a smash-and-grab break-in at a small toy store in California
Surveillance footage from inside the store shows at least four masked individuals smashing through the front door and targeting the wildly popular collectible dolls (pictured), bypassing electronics, the cash register, and other merchandise
‘We worked so hard to get to this point, and for them to just come in and, like nothing, take it all away, it’s really bad,’ she told ABC7.
Avendano, who opened the shop with her family just two months ago, suspects the burglary was premeditated, and said that she had noticed a suspicious truck parked outside the store before closing time on Tuesday evening.
The timing of the break-in also raised red flags, coming just after she posted a restock announcement on the store’s social media.
‘I had a gut feeling to check my phone,’ Avendano recalled. ‘Once I checked my phone, I saw there was motion, a sound that was coming through the front.’
‘I was watching everything, from when they got in, to what they were taking,’ she said. ‘I was panicking because I was just … I couldn’t do anything.’
The shop has since shared images of the aftermath, including shattered glass at the entrance and product debris strewn across the floor.
Footage of the break-in shows the suspects rushing in and hauling off boxes of merchandise, seemingly knowing exactly what they were after.
The brazen burglary occurred around 1:29 a.m. on Wednesday morning at One Stop Sales, a boutique in La Puente that has become known for selling the viral plush monster dolls
The burglars took dozens of boxes of Labubu dolls, totaling approximately $7,000 in retail value
The shop has since shared images of the aftermath, including shattered glass at the entrance and product debris strewn across the floor (pictured)
The white Toyota Tacoma seen in surveillance footage (pictured) and used in the burglary was later recovered by deputies, however, the suspects remain at large, according to police
The white Toyota Tacoma seen in surveillance footage and used in the burglary was later recovered by deputies, however, the suspects remain at large, according to police.
An investigation into the brazen theft is ongoing.
‘We just want justice,’ Avendano said. ‘And we want our store to feel safe again.’
Labubus, first released in China in 2015 by designer toy company Pop Mart, have surged in popularity worldwide – spotted with celebrities like Rihanna, Lizzo, and BLACKPINK’s Lisa.
While they retail for about $30 each, some Labubus can sell for hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the resale market. A life-size Labubu even fetched a jaw-dropping $170,000 at a Beijing auction earlier this year, ABC7 reported.
Pop Mart reported that its revenue doubled in 2024, reaching $1.8 billion, driven largely by the success of the Labubu line.
‘These are not just toys,’ Alex DePaoli, an associate teaching professor of marketing at Northeastern University’s School of Business told ABC News.
The collectible shop’s co-owner Joanna Avendano (pictured) estimates the total cost of all the stolen merchandise to be somewhere near $30,000
Avendano, who opened the shop (pictured) with her family just two months ago, suspects the burglary was premeditated, and said that she had noticed a suspicious truck parked outside the store before closing time on Tuesday evening
Labubus, first released in China in 2015 by designer toy company Pop Mart, have surged in popularity worldwide. Pictured: Labubu creator Kasing Lung
‘They are accessories. They are things that you can collect, not just to dress them up, not just be amused by, but also to complete an outfit.’
Much of the appeal stems from the plush toys’ scarcity and the way in which they are sold. Many Labubu dolls are available only in sealed packaging where buyers don’t know which design they’re getting, also known as ‘blind boxes.’
‘[It’s a] system essentially where you don’t know what’s in the box, you hope that what’s in the box is what you want,’ DePaoli explained.
‘If you don’t get what you want, you’ve got to go buy another one. A lot of folks have sort of likened that sort-of system to almost gambling.’
The skyrocketing demand has also led to a growing counterfeit market, with knockoff versions – dubbed ‘Lafufus’ – flooding social media and resale sites.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .