A fun shopping experience is headed to Watauga: Daiso, the global retail chain offering many items at throwaway low prices, is opening a store in Watauga, at 8028 Denton Highway #326.

The 5,500-square foot store is at Watauga Towne Crossing, and promises to be a haven for shoppers seeking merchandise at affordable prices.

According to a release, the store will open September 30 with a grand opening that will last all weekend long.

On Saturday, September 30 and Sunday, October 1, the first 100 customers to make a minimum purchase of $30 will receive a free goodie bag and a plushie.

Daiso was founded in Japan in 1977 and carries thousands of products: kitchenware, beauty supplies, stationery, wrapping paper, electronic accessories, greeting cards, party favors, and plushie toys, plus exotic-ish snacks such as wasabi peanuts.

Probably 90 percent of what they sell is disposable plastic trinkets, and there's lots of pink. Most items are under $10.

Our 2017 shopper guide suggested the following:

"They have clamps and clips in different sizes, if you need them for opened bags of chips or if you want to string something up from the ceiling. My kids like mechanical pencils, and they have them in varying softness of leads. If you went to Staples, you might pay $5. So I stock up on office supplies, papers, ceramic cups, plastic containers, and sticky notes.

They have good candy, including soft jellies in unusual flavors like tomato and regular flavors like mango or strawberry. They sell my favorite candy of all time, a candy version of this Japanese soda called Ramune. The candy is soft and chalky, and melts in your mouth."

They first debuted in DFW in 2015 with a store in Carrollton, and have since opened locations in Irving, Plano, Frisco, Euless, Grapevine, Fort Worth, Arlington, and Dallas at Mockingbird Commons.

Other stores coming to the DFW area include:

• Richardson, at 1310 W. Campbell Rd.
• Dallas, at the Shops at Park Lane
• Garland - Shiloh Springs Shopping Center at 6850 N. Shiloh Rd.

Daiso Chief Development Officer John Clarke says, "Texas based Daiso customers have shown us through our online business and social media their desire for us to have more stores within the state, influencing our immediate growth strategy in this region. We currently operate 104 units in 7 states with more states opening in 2024."