We all have had a time when we loved something so much that it became mainstream and less cool. It might be your favorite band having a big hit album. Maybe it's an awesome little movie you discovered. It is all but certain that something bigger will take over and ruin everything good about it. When the poster, vinyl, and toy company was purchased by Funko, fans of the brand thought about that. There aren't many brands bigger than Funko. Having something for everyone and being available everywhere is what it is known for. It's basically the opposite of Mondo. Only one place is where Mondo products can be found. They were cool because of that. The West side of the convention floor was home to many small shops and dealers when San Diego Comic-Con was first announced. After it was acquired by Funko, it was moved to the opposite side of the convention, which was comprised of multiple store fronts for Funko's brands, huge photo ops, and a square footage that dwarfed every other booth on the opposite side. I've been collecting posters for a long time. I initially bought them online or at special events, but eventually lined up for gallery shows and convention. I have been collecting Funko for a long time and commented on their decimation in 2015. I had to find out why Andrew Perlmutter's brand acquired the smaller one in Mondo, and what it meant for both, when I talked to him at Comic-Con. Our conversation can be read below.
I have been a fan of both Mondo and Funko for a long time but when I heard that you had acquired them, I thought it was a strange marriage. I want to know how this happened.
Andrew Perlmutter said that they have been admirers of the brand for a long time. There is a very unique look to their products. We have admired them for a while. We have conversations with many brands that we like. When the chance came up that we could potentially have a conversation about acquiring them, we took full advantage of that. We decided that Funko would be a good place for them to live after talking. It was mutually agreed. They were looking forward to it.
The most important thing for a Mondo fan is to build the brand. We don't want to turn Mondo into a toy. We don't do that You're correct. There is an opening price point for collectibles. That is what a toy store does. We do it at a good price point, but we do it for more than one licensee.
It's absolutely true. I agree.
We go a mile wide and sometimes an inch deep, which is why we are still around and everything is doing great. It is a completely different proposition with Mondo and we are excited to help them grow in different ways. Would it be possible to have Mondo in every Wal-mart store tomorrow? I agree. Are we on our way? It is not possible to say yes. We think of Mondo as an opportunity to grow globally and also do our direct to consumer business through the website.
It's great to hear that. When I asked a group of Mondo fans online what they wanted to know about the new owners, the main thing was licenses. You have access to most of the licenses. If you wanted to, you could get a license. Maybe a couple. Sometimes there are problems with their posters. They need approval on all credits and can't get every license. Fans want to know if owning a company will make it simpler for them. Are you talking to them about that?
Perlmutter said yes. One of the benefits of partnering with Funko is that we can help them with things that were hard for them to get into as a small company. We are very close to the licensors. Working with Funko is a favorite of the licensors. There will be some unlocks to be found there. There will always be a problem with likeness. I don't think we have a silver bullet for likeness. I believe that we can help them if it is the expansion of the opportunity to access differnet licenses or if it is the unlocks of certain things that have been a hurdle.
You don't have to worry about the likeness of the Pops.
Perlmutter said no. We've had discussions about that. I don't think there's a silver bullet for the posters, but I think we've got the ear of a lot of people
In person events were one of the things that Mondo did so well. Is this stuff that you want to bring back?
Perlmutter is absolutely correct. It is so important to our genes. We like talking to our fans. You can see more of that.
I want to know where you will see Mondo in the next five years.
You will see an expansion of their licenses that they are working off of and I think we will try to make it easier for the international fans of Mondo to acquire the products.
Sometimes they can only deliver to certain countries.
It is so expensive as well. Distribution is available in all those places. They will pay less for shipping if we can find the inventory closer to the fans. There are opportunities to grow around the world. We will help grow the site. Newsweek named Funko.com one of the fastest growing e- commerce websites in the collectible industry. There is a lot of synergy to help grow them. Continue the growth of the Mondo brand. We acquired the brand so we want it to continue to thrive. We could have made really nice collectibles. Posters could have been made by us. It is possible that we could have made vinyl. I'm not sure. It wouldn't have been him. That was what mattered to us.
Do you think that the expansion of Mondo will continue?
Perlmutter is absolutely correct. We have our eyes open on what makes sense. Is it possible that we do shower curtains? It's probably not. When there are opportunities to expand it will be looked at.
What can Funko learn from Mondo?
Perlmutter thinks we can learn from Mondo. What a great brand. We can learn from the way they present their products. We have a different demographic. There are two different ends of the spectrum when it comes to price points. They just make something like that. They create art. They could teach us more than we could teach them.
This is wonderful to hear as a fan. A lot of fans were thinking that they don't want posters with pops on them.
Perlmutter says we don't. We don't want Mondo to be the same way as Funko is distributed. We don't like Pop Posters. We can do that ourselves. We don't think that is interesting. We don't want the album covers to be turned into Pop covers. Don't fret, that's not happening.
It's the last thing. The brand requires people to wait in line because of the limited offerings. You have to wait in line. At Comic-Con this year, a lot of the fans were disappointed that it became harder to win a lottery than to just line up for a poster when Mondo moved in with Funko, because it became more difficult to win a lottery with Funko. Is that something that will keep going or will you rethink?
Perlmutter thinks we're going to evaluate it. We want to make sure that we have a portfolio of brands together, and we want to give as much access as possible. We will keep evaluating it as we move forward. Maybe there is a chance to have a specific line.
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