Funko Expands Wetmore Forest With New Original Line of Pop! Monsters

EVERETT, Wash., Aug. 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Funko, Inc. ("Funko," or the "Company") FNKO, a leading pop culture consumer products company, today announced the expansion of the company's original line of Pop! Monsters with a second wave of characters, custom video content and a new dedicated retail space to further broaden the Wetmore Forest experience.

Funko Wetmore Forest

Funko has expanded the Wetmore Forest collection to include a second wave of loveable, light-hearted and fun monsters. The Wetmore Forest branded collection features three product lines including Funko's iconic Pop!, Plush, and Keychain categories. In conjunction with the new line, Funko Animation Studios will produce and release a series of proprietary online videos and other media content to showcase the characters of the Wetmore Forest world.

"It's extraordinary to see Funko's Wetmore Forest come alive in this new and exciting way," said Brian Mariotti, CEO of Funko. "While our creative team is renowned for the amazing work they do to layer our whimsical, fun and unique style onto the content we license, we are incredibly proud to have developed our own content and intellectual property with this collection."

On August 18, Funko will host a Wetmore Block Party to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Funko's flagship store, along with the city of Everett's 125^th year anniversary. Funko CEO Brian Mariotti and Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin will kick off the event by unveiling the newly expanded Wetmore Forest area inside Funko's flagship retail at 2802 Wetmore Avenue in Everett, Washington. Fans will get to experience an in-store Wetmore Forest-themed game and interact with their favorite monsters in their natural habitat.  

"Funko's new Wetmore Forest will be an exciting and beautiful addition to our growing downtown area," said Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin. "As we continue to celebrate Everett's 125^th anniversary, we're not only celebrating our past but also our future. We are lucky and proud to have an innovative company like Funko expanding in our downtown, offering fun products and experiences to locals and visitors alike."

Funko's second launch of loveable lighthearted Pop! Monsters include Sapwood Mossbottom, Mulch, Grumble, FoxPaw, Liverwort, Magnus TwistKnot, Angus Knucklebark, Smoots and Slog with Grub. Each Pop! Monster has its own customized storyline that helps tell a piece of the Wetmore Forest story. To further enhance the story behind this charming, happy land, Funko will also be launching an interactive online experience for all to enjoy.

Mariotti continued, "Our passion for pop culture pervades our company and Wetmore Forest is a prime example of our openness to new ideas from anywhere in the organization, which resulted in this innovative and differentiated product line. We are excited to expand the Wetmore universe and to continue to provide our fans with new and innovative ways to interact with the characters they know and love."

Designed as a rainforest, similar to the Hoh Rainforest in Washington State's Olympic National Park, Wetmore Forest is an enchanting forest filled with mosses and ferns blanketing the surfaces of fallen trees and streambeds, wildlife roam freely among bubbling creeks, and magic seems to lurk around every corner. This engaging story line was created to encourage exploration and discovery amongst the Funko fans.

Wetmore Forest Pop! Monsters are available to purchase at Funko's flagship retail store, online at Funko.com and at specialty retailers.  

About Funko, Inc.

Headquartered in Everett, Washington, Funko is a leading pop culture consumer products company. Funko designs, sources and distributes licensed pop culture products across multiple categories, including vinyl figures, action toys, plush, apparel, housewares and accessories for consumers who seek tangible ways to connect with their favorite pop culture brands and characters. Learn more at https://funko.com/, and follow us on Twitter (@OriginalFunko) and Instagram (@OriginalFunko).

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release that do not relate to matters of historical fact should be considered forward-looking statements, including statements regarding our expansion of the Wetmore Forest Collection and Pop! Monsters, as well as new products created by Funko Animation Studios. These forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, the following: our ability to maintain and realize the full value of our license agreements; the ongoing level of popularity of our products with consumers; changes in the retail industry and markets for our consumer products; our ability to maintain our relationships with retail customers and distributors; our ability to compete effectively; fluctuations in our gross margin; our dependence on content development and creation by third parties; our ability to develop and introduce products in a timely and cost-effective manner; our ability to obtain, maintain and protect our intellectual property rights or those of our licensors; potential violations of the intellectual property rights of others; our ability to attract and retain qualified employees and maintain our corporate culture; risks associated with our international operations; changes in U.S. tax law; foreign currency exchange rate exposure; the possibility or existence of global and regional economic downturns; our dependence on vendors and outsourcers; risks relating to government regulation; risks relating to litigation, including products liability claims and securities class action litigation; any failure to successfully integrate or realize the anticipated benefits of acquisitions or investments; reputational risk resulting from our e-commerce business and social media presence; risks relating to our indebtedness and our ability to secure additional financing; the potential for our electronic data to be compromised; the influence of our significant stockholder, ACON, and the possibility that ACON's interests may conflict with the interests of our other stockholders; risks relating to our organizational structure; volatility in the price of our Class A common stock; and the potential that we will fail to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting. These and other important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in our quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter of 2018 and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

Media Contact:
Julia Young, ICR
FunkoPR@icrinc.com
203-682-8200

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/44bd6625-52c7-4184-a93d-502fa9948a53