Korean mobile messenger company Kakao has opened a flagship store for character products based on its mobile stickers, called Kakao Friends.

In Seoul’s Gangnam district, the opening of the Kakao Friends Flagship Store attracted a queue of more than 1000 people despite heavy rain. Promotional events for the opening included freebies.

Kakao has 16 small-scale retail outlets across Korea, with the new three-storey flagship being its biggest store yet. The new shop offers a more diverse range than the other stores.

Visitors stepping inside the flagship store first come across a gigantic version of Ryan, a lion-inspired mobile messenger character that is highly popular with KakaoTalk users.

Also on the ground floor are products based on Kakao’s eight mobile characters, including Apeach and Muzi, while visitors can buy household and fashion items on the second floor.

On the third floor is the Ryan cafe with 100 seats.

Products range from pens and mugs to slippers and stuffed toys, all based on Kakao Friends characters.

Mobile stickers are growing in popularity among young messenger users worldwide, with more messenger firms, including Facebook, rolling out their own stickers.

Line, run by Tokyo-based Line Corp, is also pouring resources into the mobile sticker and retail businesses, running more than 44 retail stores in 11 nations for its character lineup, Line Friends. Profit generated by its mobile stickers in the first quarter of this year reached 382 billion won (US$332 million), making up 22 per cent of the firm’s operating income.