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After layoffs at Mondo, the high-end collectibles company he acquired last year, Fonco CEO Brian Mariotti has a message for Mondo fans — including the team that runs its poster business.
As part of Funko’s 10% company layoffs, Mondo co-founders Mitch Putnam and Rob Jones, as well as senior creative director Eric Garza, were fired last week.
as if Twitter post On Thursday, Mariotti confirmed layoffs at Mondo but said “the majority of layoffs across the company were not at Mondo.” “The Mondo Posters business will continue, period,” he wrote last week, contrary to earlier reports that Mondo was shutting down its posters division.
That, according to Mariotti, “is an extremely limited run of posters, most of which are 150 pieces or less, which we feel unfairly limits access to fans.” Most of these posters were bought at very high prices only to be copied by fans who wanted them.
Mariotti continued, “The posters were created by some of the most amazing artists working today. Our goal is to create a large edition (limited but not super limited) that allows as many fans to participate in this world-class pop culture art statement. We also believe that by expanding its pop culture horizons to include TV properties, sports, anime and music, there will be an incredible appetite from Mondo fans and pop culture fans alike.
In addition, according to Mariotti in the message, Funco will be “investing heavily” in the production of vinyl records in the near future, planning to build a 70,000 square meter facility in San Diego, which will be a record-press joint venture. Factory, the “record house of the future” and a place for live music. Plans for the San Diego location include a 4,000-square-foot Mondo Art Gallery.
We are 100% committed to providing the best support we can to the people at Mondo. Fans,” Mariotti’s note concluded.
Read Mariotti’s full note:
Funko is obsessed with Mondo and the amazing products they’ve produced over the years. We believe Mondo is a pop-culture tastemaker and always has their finger on the pulse of what’s cool.
With the recent leadership change and a lot of misinformation about the Mondo Poster Division, I can tell you that our strategy is very clear.
While we reduced our overall workforce at Funko by about 10%, most of the company’s layoffs were not at Mondo.
Mondo posters continue to trade, period. We feel that most limited poster works of 150 pieces or less will unduly limit fan access. Most of these posters can only be bought by copying them at high cost to fans who really want them. Posters are created by some of the most amazing artists working today. Our goal is to create a large edition (limited but not super limited) that allows as many fans to participate in this world-class pop culture art statement. We also believe that by expanding its pop culture horizons to include TV properties, sports, anime and music, there will be a tremendous appetite from Mondo fans and pop culture fans alike.
Funko has recently invested heavily in the production of vinyl records, allowing Mondo to deliver records to a wider audience. Currently, the 70,000-square-foot record building facility will complement the future live music scene in San Diego. The space will also feature a 4,000-square-foot Mondo Art Gallery as part of the vision.
Funko is putting a lot of effort into building a pop culture portfolio for Mondo’s high-end collection, investing heavily in some of the most iconic licenses around. These are dream licenses that Mondo has wanted to work with for a long time but couldn’t due to financial constraints before we got them.
We’re 100% committed to supporting the folks at Mondo as much as we can, so they can continue to make amazing products that reach a large and diverse fanbase with broader licenses, better distribution, and a better overall experience for their fans.
Brian Mariotti
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