Funko Pop Star Wars action figures were released at Meltdown Comics and Collectibles in Los Angeles in 2015.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
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Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Funko Pop Star Wars action figures were released at Meltdown Comics and Collectibles in Los Angeles in 2015.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images
Chewbacca and friends are in trouble. or maybe soon
Producer of Funko Pop! A collector plans to scrap a million-dollar inventory after realizing there are too many pop culture statues to hold.
Declining Demand for Pop Culture’s Vinyl Toys Plus an excess inventory. It is driving losses as the company faces financial difficulties.
Inventory fills the company’s warehouses, forcing Funko to rent containers to store excess stock. And now the product is worth less than the cost of keeping it.
Funko said that at the end of last year The company’s inventory totaled $246 million, a 48% percent increase from the previous year.
“This includes inventory that the company intends to dispose of in the first half of 2023 to reduce compliance costs by managing inventory levels in line with the operating capacity of our distribution centers,” Funko said in a statement. Wednesday’s press conference “This is expected to result in approximately $30 to $36 million in record revenue in the first half of 2023.”
The company reported a fourth-quarter loss of nearly $47 million, down from a profit of $17 million in the same period last year. In addition to dumping inventory Cost-saving measures will include a 10 percent reduction in workforce, company executives said in an earnings call with investors on Wednesday.
The collectibles market is still hot.
The news was quite unexpected for Juli Lennett, NPD’s vice president and industry consultant for U.S. toys.
“I was a little surprised because the collectibles market is one of the big things for 2022. Collectibles are up 24%,” she told NPR. “That would include other types of action figure collectibles, but Funko of course. It’s the biggest player in that area.”
at the same time She added, The increase is still slow compared to the interest in collectibles that has seen a few years ago. Since the epidemic of COVID-19 Beginning in 2020, the market for “older kids”, toys for children aged 12 and over, is growing exponentially. Adults seeking comfort from nostalgia and ways to relieve stress pick up toys and collectibles.
Funko is part of a pandemic-era boom: it posted more than $1 billion in net sales in 2021, a 58% increase from the previous year.
The company has grown rapidly from numerous licensing deals with popular franchise properties such as star wars and Harry PotterThe company keeps an eye on the latest pop culture frenzy. Whether it’s meme-friendly “It’s okay” dog or even yes cocaine bear.This figure is suitable for adult collectors. which accounted for the majority of toy sales. The resale market is also hot, with the Willy Wonka figure set believed to be the most expensive Funko sale to date when it will be sold for $100,000 in 2022.
But as pop culture trends come and go, So is the value of toys that celebrate them.
That said, Lennett doesn’t feel the trend when it comes to Funkos and other collectibles – at least not yet.
“Adults will continue to be interested in collectibles,” she says. “There are too many new buyers buying in these categories. And it will take some time before they are all gone.”
Is there an afterlife for Funkos?
some people think Funkos should be donated instead of thrown away. Others say the set is supposedly worthless. can be sent to the comic shop — Usually a small independent store where Funko’s earnings can be used.
Even though the beloved Funkos ended up in a landfill. There is always a chance that they will be excavated one day. Thirty years after Atari dropped millions of copies of the notoriously unpopular video game based on the movie, it’s been a while. E.T.. The cartridge is mined. They later fetched over $100,000 each on eBay.
