The National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) has announced that Kidrobot, a leading creator of limited edition art toys, has joined the NECA family of companies. Kidrobot will remain an artist-run company under the direction of Frank Kozik, a renowned artist and the creator of the Labbit urban vinyl toy line. Kidrobot, whose limited edition designer vinyl toys have inspired a line of movies (see "Movies Based on Kid Robot"), will remain headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. NECA COO Joel Weinshanker indicates that NECA’s goal "is to allow Kidrobot to grow organically and flourish on its own."
This is the third significant acquisition by the NECA group this year. Weinshanker, the owner of NECA (which in addition to its own massive line of licensed merchandise also owns game powerhouse WizKids), recently acquired a second retail chain, MovieStop (see "NECA/WizKids Owner Adds 42 Stores") to go with Hastings, which he acquired in July (see "NECA/WizKids Owner Acquires Hastings").
The acquisition of KidRobot expands the portfolio of products, already large, to which NECA can apply licenses. This broad and growing range of products allows NECA to license across more products and pay larger guarantees to licensors, a significant competitive advantage. Acquiring retailers also gives it a significant distribution channel which it controls and where it can feature its products, completing the circle.
It's a strategy that has yet to be fully realized. Although the company began acquiring retail assets several years ago, this year's acquisitions are much more significant. The next year or so, as the integrations are integrated into an overall strategic play, should display more of what we can expect from this rapidly growing assemblage of assets.
