Opening July 30, 2020

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BANDAI S.A.S. (President & CEO: Susumu Hirasawa; Head office: Tour W 102, Terrasse Boieldieu 92085 Paris La Defense cedex France) of the BANDAI NAMCO Group, Manga Story SARL (President & CEO: Patrick Carosella; Head office: 13 Boulevard Voltaire, 75011 Paris, France), and BANDAI SPIRITS CO., LTD. (President & CEO: Yusuke Fukuda; Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo) will open the BANDAI HOBBY STORE, France's first ever hobby shop centered around GUNPLA, in the central Republic district of Paris, France on July 30, 2020.

The aim of the BANDAI HOBBY STORE is to expand the BANDAI SPIRITS plastic model business in Europe by offering Europe's largest selection of GUNPLA. In addition to GUNPLA and GUNDAM-related products from the BANDAI NAMCO Group, the store will also offer many other plastic models, etc. from BANDAI SPIRITS.

The central Republic district where the new store will open is home to multiple shops selling games, anime, and comics, attracting users from all around France. Manga Story, the largest shop in the area, began selling BANDAI plastic models, focused on GUNPLA, around four years ago. Discussions with the president, Mr. Carosella regarding the possibility of opening a shop specializing in plastic models had been ongoing for some time, leading to the opening of this new store in the same area.

With about 200 square meters of space on the main floor and in the basement, the store will carry about 600 different types of plastic models, including both new and conventional products. With the various GUNPLA categories organized by color for ease of understanding, and a workshop area at the back of the store where customers can try assembling the models, everyone from child to adult, beginner to expert, will find a variety of ways to enjoy plastic models, from hands-on experience to purchase.　

We will use the opening of this store as an opportunity to explore the possibility of opening multiple stores in the future.

What is "GUNPLA"?

GUNPLA are plastic models based on the GUNDAM series, launched in Japan in July 1980 and celebrating their 40th anniversary this year. So far, over 700 million units have been sold: 525.8 million from the Real series, and 174.4 million from the SD series (as of the end of May 2020), making GUNPLA the biggest hit in the history of plastic models. In recent years, we have been growing our overseas market.

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* The information in this press release is current as of July 27, 2020, and is subject to change without notice.

Contacts

Press inquiries:
BANDAI S.A.S. Makoto Nishiyama ([email protected])