A "Yellow" Craze Sweeps In: Merchandise Sells Out on the First Day

▲ The yellow rubber duck made its official debut at Glory Pier, drawing over 100,000 visitors. (Photo / From the Kaohsiung Buzhiyi Fan Page)

Travel Center / Comprehensive Report

The charm of the yellow rubber duck is astonishing. Yesterday (the 19th), it officially floated into Kaohsiung’s Glory Pier, attracting over 100,000 visitors to admire its “duck” appearance. In the afternoon, the official merchandise went on sale for the first time. Not only were the initial 1,000 number tickets insufficient—prompting the vendor to issue an additional 500—but all items were sold out within seconds of going on sale.

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The allure of the “yellow” craze was irresistible. Under everyone’s eager anticipation, the yellow rubber duck finally made its official debut at Glory Pier during the Mid-Autumn Festival, with the anticipated tourism-related economic impact estimated to exceed NT$1 billion. To grab the freshly launched official duck merchandise on the first day, some people even started queuing up at the pier as early as 9 a.m. When sales officially began at 5 p.m., the 1,000 pre-prepared number tickets were quickly snapped up, leaving many without tickets complaining bitterly.

“Why weren’t the limited spots announced in advance?” many ticket-less visitors complained. Others said they had endured two to three hours of queuing under the scorching sun, only to find the line barely moving, later learning that many people had cut in line. In response, the vendor repeatedly apologized, urgently issued an additional 500 number tickets on-site, and assured the public, “We will definitely improve the queue management tomorrow.”

The officially licensed yellow rubber duck merchandise, designed by Florentijn Hofman, includes seven items. Among them, the Kaohsiung-exclusive “commemorative edition yellow rubber duck” is limited to 18,000 units, with a purchase limit of four per person. After the first day of sales, all items were completely sold out, leaving many who didn’t get one to return the next day to queue again. Sales began at 10 a.m. and ended once items sold out. As for the first-day sales performance? The vendor stated that the figures have not yet been fully tallied.

▲ (Left image) The Kaohsiung-exclusive limited edition yellow rubber duck is limited to 18,000 units, with a purchase limit of four per person. (Right image) The yellow rubber duck merchandise also includes the currently popular washi tape series. (Photos / All taken by reporter Chen Ziying)