About 80 people were lined up outside the Works Out Hongdae Rise store in Seogyo-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Saturday afternoon, waiting to enter the Puma Motorsport GP pop-up store. Formula One fans had gathered for the event, and despite temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius and waits stretching up to an hour, they stood their ground armed with parasols and handheld fans.
Among them was a 41-year-old surnamed Kwon, who had traveled up from Jeonju after spotting news of the pop-up on Instagram. He waited about 40 minutes before the store opened to secure his spot. "It's great to be able to try on and buy replica wear here in Korea — the kind the Ferrari team crew actually wears," Kwon said. "Getting a keyring shaped like the Hungarian GP track, which is being held this week, as a free gift makes it even better." He added that he could feel how much the F1 fan base in Korea had grown.
Global sports brand Puma is running the pop-up from Monday through Sunday, offering fans a chance to browse and buy its F1 Ferrari and McLaren team collections. Unlike Adidas, which sells Mercedes-AMG and Audi collections domestically, Puma does not carry its F1 Ferrari and McLaren collaboration line in Korean stores. Fans from across the country descended on the pop-up to see and buy the collaborative apparel and accessories that had previously been available only through overseas purchases.
On-site events added to the excitement beyond the merchandise. About 30 people were queued for the "Motorsport GP Lap Time Challenge," a simulator game that lets visitors race as Ferrari or McLaren drivers on a virtual track. The top lap time earns a team cap personally signed by Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton or McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, fueling fierce competition among participants.
Fans also lined up for the "Reaction Speed Challenge," a training drill F1 drivers use to sharpen reflexes and reaction times. Participants try to catch a randomly dropped rod, with the number of catches determining the prize — a fan or socks. Many failed due to the rod's surprisingly fast drop speed, but laughter filled the space throughout.
"People still queue for the Lap Time Challenge even though the wait is anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour," a staff member said. "It's especially popular because the lap times customers set are displayed on-site in real time, ranked from fastest to slowest."
With F1's popularity in Korea on the rise, Puma has seen results that exceeded expectations. More than 30 percent of total stock sold on opening day, Monday. The Ferrari collection proved especially popular, with more than half its inventory gone on the first day.
"On weekdays we've had more than 600 visitors a day, and we expect over 1,000 on weekends," a Puma Korea official said. "When we open at noon, the Ferrari collection's daily stock tends to sell out around 1 p.m. Sales have been stronger than we anticipated."
spa@heraldcorp.com
