"So, yesterday, new owners took ownership of the company I spent many years helping build it into the giant it became. And yesterday, the restructuring began. They aren't putting out press releases or anything of that nature as to who was let go. So, it's industry websites, social media, and direct questions to those I can ask. Now, as a reminder, while I worked there for 29 years, I have been gone for 16 years. So, there are plenty of "big names" at the company that I didn't even know.
I do know the subsidiary Diamond Select Toys was shut down yesterday and all staff let go. At least three of them are guys I know very well, all having worked there for over twenty years. I have heard that Steve Leaf was among the people let go in Purchasing. Steve would be the last surviving Purchasing member that I brought into the department. So, that's especially hard for me. (Outside of him being a really nice and very knowledgeable guy.)"
Say what you will about Diamond itself, DST really made some great stuff over the years and it's terrible to lose another source of cool merch. Lots of love and support to the talented and hard-working staff affected by this, fingers crossed they get snapped up by other companies really quickly.
The only guy I knew about that worked with DST was former 4 Horseman Chris Dahlberg. He's a great artist and I dearly hope he is able to get his work out there in other lines.
Oh man, terrible news.
Edit:also i know a lot of people didnt care for what they made but just wanted to shoutout my personal greatest hits:
-Black Hole figures, Maximillian having an alternate head with Reinhart inside was just sick!
-Tron Tomy homage set, my ideal versions of their 7 inch Tron figures.
-Marvel Select Juggernaut, Colossus, Silver Centurion, Crimson Dynamo, Titanium Man and Immortal Hulk.
And yes as always with this type of news we can hope anyone laid off will end up landing on their feet and be able to embrace new opportunities.
I have confirmed with some retailers who have been told DST is in fact shutting down. Its still unclear what will happen with open pre-orders but general thought is they will be canceled.
The most important thing is hoping for the best of those employees. Having been through layoffs myself, it's a very hard time and the current employment market isn't terribly forgiving. My thoughts are with those who have been displaced and hope that they soon find themselves in better situations.
Will that Annihulis figure still get released? I really feel bad for those people that worked there for so many years. Times are really hard right now.
It is being reported by Bleeding Cool that Diamond Select Toys is being shut down and all of it's staff was let go on Friday.At the beginning of the year Diamond Distributors which owns Diamond Select Toys declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. All the assets from Diamond including Diamond Select Toys were purchased by Universal Distribution LLC and Ad Populum which as we previously reported completed that purchase this past Friday.
Since Friday their have been a number of reports about layoffs that have begun at Diamond as the new owners begin the restructuring process of their new purchase, primarily on the comic distribution side of things.Today however it is now being reported by the above mentioned BleedingCool website that the entire Diamond Select Toys division had also been shut down.This report seems to be based primarily on a supposed social media post from Mark Herr, a former Diamond Comics executive."So, yesterday, new owners took ownership of the company I spent many years helping build it into the giant it became. And yesterday, the restructuring began. They aren't putting out press releases or anything of that nature as to who was let go. So, it's industry websites, social media, and direct questions to those I can ask. Now, as a reminder, while I worked there for 29 years, I have been gone for 16 years. So, there are plenty of "big names" at the company that I didn't even know.I do know the subsidiary Diamond Select Toys was shut down yesterday and all staff let go. At least three of them are guys I know very well, all having worked there for over twenty years. I have heard that Steve Leaf was among the people let go in Purchasing. Steve would be the last surviving Purchasing member that I brought into the department. So, that's especially hard for me. (Outside of him being a really nice and very knowledgeable guy.)"
I say supposed because based on the link provided to Herr's social media by BC, I see no such post having been made. Since I didn't see Herr's post myself, I can only speculate that they deleted the post between now and BC's reporting of it. I personally have seen one person, a Production Manager at Diamond Select Toys this weekend post on their Facebook page stating that they had been let go from the company, but they did not suggest the entire company and everyone in it was let go. And I have seen no mention from any other DST employee's I follow on social media stating they have been laid off or that the company is being shut down. That doesn't mean they haven't been let go, just means they haven't stated so publicly.Assuming this news of the new owners shutting down Diamond Select Toys is true, that leaves a lot of questions about what will happen with all the solicited products that many etailers and comics shops have been taking pre-orders on up until now???We will update this story as more details become known.
Any chance Neca will have access to whatever licenses Diamond has?
i for one am glad Diamond is gone. They were a pain to work with if you were a mom and pop. They would always give popular stock to bigger outfits and forced you buy a lot of garbage every month to meet their minimums. Hopefully this new company makes it more equitable.
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