Shanghai, Friday, 14 November 2025.
Merlin’s Legoland Shanghai—opened on a Saturday—arrives as the company’s largest Legoland globally, sprawling across 318,000 m² and built from tens of millions of LEGO bricks. For retail professionals this is a clear signal: Merlin is shifting from compact urban discovery centres to full-service, higher-yield resort products aimed at multiday family stays. Expect intensified competition for guest wallet share, new seasonal and capacity-management pressures, and expanded F&B and themed retail footprints that favour localized sourcing and co-investment models. The resort’s 250-room hotel and integrated entertainment mix create opportunities for bundled pricing, longer-stay merchandising strategies, and experiential retail formats tailored to children aged 2–12 and their parents. Early data from opening-week demand will test pricing elasticity and peak/off-peak segmentation; operators and suppliers should prepare for rapid scale-up, shorter lead times, and partnerships with regional tourism stakeholders. This launch offers a working blueprint for resort-scale rollouts across APAC.