20th Century Fox (Los Angeles) plans to open its first “Simpsons”-branded store in March, based on the animated Fox network TV show. The store will be located in Beijing, with a second flagship opening in Shanghai by June. Both flagship stores are expected to be nearly 2700-square-feet in size and sell up to 200 different products based on the show's characters.
The company has plans to eventually operate 100 locations globally. The goal, according to Mashable, is that nearly half of all “Simpsons”-licensed merchandise will be sold through these bricks-and-mortar stores.
“The Simpsons” was banned in China until 2014. Since then, its popularity within the country has risen, which is why the network decided to open its first store there rather than in the U.S.