It’s a great business “Strategy.”
The San Francisco Zoo & Gardens has been “swamped” with orders by frenzied fans trying to get their hands on its safari T-shirt — after “KPop Demon Hunters” songstresses were caught sporting the swag.
At least 500 shirts have flown off the shelves since members of the girl group Twice posted a viral clip proudly posing in the gear — totally depleting the zoo of its stock.
“Thanks to you, it’s become a ‘thing!’” the zoo wrote in a Facebook post this week.
The insane demand was almost immediate, with calls flooding the zoo moments after “Twice” star Jeongyeon posted a video documenting the visit she made with fellow members Jihyo and Mina last week.
The clip included shots of the zoo’s beloved zebras, gorillas and penguins — but fans zeroed in on the group shot of the crew wearing matching T-shirts.
The $27.99 “vintage safari group scene” depicts a plethora of mammals and birds that call the San Francisco Zoo home and was previously only available at its gift shop.
The zoo has sold an estimated 500 shirts per day, the zoo told The California Post.
The demand has been so intense that the zoo is now offering the T-shirt in its otherwise limited online gift shop — and it was put front and center on the webpage.
The shirts were only available for pre-order on Monday because the zoo needed the chance to boost its stock, as well as add a kids’ size version.
“We were so excited when Jihyo, Jeongyeon and Mina, members of the K-pop group, TWICE, visited SF Zoo recently, and it looked like they had a great time! We were also surprised and delighted that the group posted images wearing our popular vintage-style SF Zoo t-shirt,” the zoo said.
The trio was apparently taking a reprieve after their nine-member group put on two sold-out shows at the Oakland Arena as part of their “This Is For” World Tour.
Twice was already popular, but was further catapulted after their song “Strategy” was put on the soundtrack for the smash hit movie “KPop Demon Hunters.”
The K-pop idols’ fashionable choice will end up benefiting the zoo’s more than 2,000 exotic, endangered and rescued animals — a portion of the sales made on the merch go toward the zoo’s animal care program.
The frenzy comes just months after a similar Taylor Swift-spurred fever raised more than $2.3 million for the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Swifties made generous donations to the northern California marine museum after the singer spotted a vintage T-shirt calling for otter conservation at her “The Life of a Showgirl” album release movie back in October.
The aquarium heeded the hitmaker’s devoted fans and re-released the garment, first printed more than 32 years ago, on Thursday as part of a special campaign to raise $1.3 million – a goal that was surpassed in less than eight hours.
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