LINE FRIENDS Unveils BT21 Merchandise at Its Flagship Store in New York

The LINE FRIENDS flagship store in New York will exhibit a futuristic space-themed area, where customers encounter Mega Van, a massive BT21 character statue and meet BT21 character-themed products displayed to attract customers' attention. Moreover, the store will feature BT21 video clips on Times Square LED Billboards.

BTS, a globally renowned boy band, is the first K-POP group to enter a US Billboard Hot 100. BTS recently fired up the audience with their American Music Awards (AMA) performance, standing on one of the biggest stages in the music industry. Prior to their AMA performance, BTS was featured on major US TV channels and Radio stations including CBS's "The Late Late Show with James Corden," ABC talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" and "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," adding to their considerable appearance worldwide. With such BTS' successful performances in the US, it will draw many fans' interest and attention for the final arrival of BT21 merchandise in LINE FRIENDS' flagship store in New York.

Recently, LINE FRIENDS introduced a total of eight new BT21 characters, inspired by each BTS member, through its LINE STORE and official BT21 social media channels. The BT21 character set is the first output from LINE FRIENDS' new "FRIENDS CREATORS" project, an initiative to collaborate with global artists on creating new IP (Intellectual Property).

Since their release, the BT21 characters have scored more than 17 million sticker downloads and 250 million Twitter exposures. Additionally, official social media channels for BT21, including Twitter (twitter.com/BT21_), Instagram and YouTube, have reached over 2.5 million users within less than three months, boasting how quickly these characters have become global favorites. In fact, many fans from around the world have already created art pieces and banners for BTS using the BT21 characters on their own, demonstrating the high demand for BT21 items and further increasing the buzz around the characters.

"LINE FRIENDS is thrilled to showcase the new BT21 products at our flagship store in New York for the fans around the world because of the huge popularity of the BT21 characters, as well as BTS worldwide through social media channels," said LINE FRIENDS. The company added, "Starting with the successful partnership with BTS for BT21, LINE FRIENDS will continue to enrich its brand assets by collaborating with other world-renowned artists for new IP and contents for the millennials."

The BT21 merchandise is also available at the famed Korean's first modern luxury specialty store BoonTheShop, in Seoul, South Korea, and will soon be on the shelves of Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

About the BT21 Characters:

TATA, who was always curious about everything outside of his universe, decided to become a superstar on Earth after accidently landing there during his travels. He soon begins his journey with members RJ, CHIMMY, COOKY, MANG, SHOOKY and KOYA to become BT21, becoming a global superstar. And this is how BT21 begins.

About LINE FRIENDS

LINE FRIENDS is a global brand featuring 11 characters which were originally created for use as stickers for leading mobile messenger application LINE and its 200 million active worldwide users. With signature characters such as Brown, Choco and Cony, LINE FRIENDS has collaborated with a number of renowned brands around the world, including LAMY, L'Occitane, Brompton and others. LINE FRIENDS has operated 91 stores globally in a total of 11 markets worldwide, in cities such Seoul, New York, Shanghai, and Tokyo. LINE FRIENDS became an independent company in January 2015. For more information please visit www.LINEFRIENDS.com.

SOURCE LINE FRIENDS