Funko Releases an Official Statement About the Future of Mondo; Poster Business Continuing

John Squires

Funko is doing a bit of damage control in the wake of last week’s big news about the future of Mondo, which was purchased by the company less than one year ago. Last week it was reported that the Mondo division of Funko was hit with massive layoffs that included the two co-founders of the popular Mondo brand, Rob Jones and Mitch Putnam.

The Wrap reported last week, “They killed the poster division, which is a shock considering that’s how Mondo started, along with a division meant for cutting-edge experiences and products called The Lab, which was run by Mondo co-founder Rob Jones, who was also laid off during the process. Mitch Putnam, another co-founder, also got the axe. As of now, the only two divisions of the company that remain are the toys and records divisions. But insiders tell TheWrap it’s unclear how long those divisions will remain as part of the Funko portfolio.”

In their own statement this week, Funko insists that Mondo’s mega popular poster division will continue, and they’re generally downplaying those reports from last week.

“Since there is a lot of misinformation about the recent change in leadership and the poster division of Mondo currently out there, I can tell you that our strategy is very clear,” writes Funko’s Brian Mariotti. “While we did reduce the workforce by about 10% across Funko, the majority of the company-wide layoffs weren’t in Mondo.”

Mariotti continues, “The Mondo posters business will continue, period. Our goal is to make larger edition size runs (limited but not ultra-limited) that allow more fans to participate in this world-class expression of pop culture art.” The official memo also suggests that Funko will be “investing heavily in the production of vinyl records” under the Mondo label.

“We are 100% committed to providing all the support we possibly can for the folks at Mondo, so they can continue to make amazing products that reach a larger and more diverse Fanbase through expanded licenses, better distribution, and better overall experience for the fans,” Mariotti’s letter – posted to the official Mondo Twitter account – concludes.

This statement paints a pretty rosy picture about the state of Mondo at this point in time, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that there’s a lot of damage control at play here. If the founders of Mondo are no longer on board the ship, at what point is Funko’s Mondo no longer the Mondo we know and love? And why exactly have the founders been let go, you ask?

These are questions we still don’t have answers to. But at this point in time, we can’t exactly say our concerns from last week have been assuaged. Stay tuned for more as we learn it.

In the meantime, you can read Funko’s full statement on Mondo below.

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