In a surprise turn of events in the narrative of the pop culture specialist, Funko has detailed lower than expected net sales of $214m in its preliminary fourth quarter 2019 results.
The company reported its preliminary financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 this week, showing that it expected to see a decrease of eight per cent compared to the $233m is totalled in Q4 2018.
Net sales were below expectations in mature markets, including in the US, due to the challenging retail environment, which according to the firm, resulted in lower than expected purchases among Funko’s top customers over Christmas.
The lack of big hitting, box office films through 2019 has also been highlighted as a reason for the decrease. These factors more than offset the strong growth that Funko had seen in Europe, as well as the strength of the Loungefly brand during the quarter.
“While we are disappointed in our fourth quarter results, we are confident that our strong track record of innovation through new product categories and properties, as well as continued international expansion, will continue to propel the company in 2020 and beyond,” said Brian Mariotti, chief executive officer.
“The underlying strength of our Pop! And Loungefly brands, combined with Funko’s unique ability to leverage evergreen properties will enable the company to achieve high-single-digit to low-double-digit sales growth in 2020.
“Since 2017, we have grown sales at a compound annual rate of more than 20 per cent. The key drivers that have fuelled our growth and brought Funko to where it is today remain intact. Looking forward, we plan to continue investing in existing and new products, people and global operations to ensure the company is positioned for long-term success.”
Pop!, Loungefly and new product introductions in toys and games have all been highlighted as drivers for the company’s growth throughout 2020.
Funko will report its fourth quarter and full year financial results after the market closes on Thursday, march 5th this year.