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???
UPDATE: I have been able to confirm through several retailers that they were informed DST is being shut down. It's still not clear what will happen with open pre-orders but the general consensus from folks I have talked to is that they will be canceled.
We will update this story as more details become known.
On 5/19/2025 at 7:28 AM, SpiderS said:This is incredibly depressing, obviously for us fans because we won't get great looking Hobgoblin, Archangel and Annihilus but that's really nothing compared to what DST staff feels right now, people who lost their livelihoods, their Toy division was definitely promising it's too bad new owner lacked resources and/or vision to see the real potential of DST.
I was eagerly waiting for the Marvel Select Archangel to pair with Marvel Select Psylocke...I do wonder if they started producing Hobgoblin, Archangel and Annihilus. It's sad to hear people who devoted most of their life to a company which they let go.
On 5/19/2025 at 12:00 PM, frozentenderloin said:This is unfortunate, both for those who were employed, and us as consumers. I personally liked the fact that there was an alternative line to Marvel Legends out there. My Immortal Hulk, Abomination, Sabretooth, Rocket, and Groot are all select figures. Despite the 7in scale, I like having my large characters tower over my Legends figures. It makes those characters even more larger than life.
i do hope those laid off find work quickly. It is always sad when this type of thing happens.
Sad news indeed, Marvel Select are my go to for large characters like Hulk, Abomination and Juggernaut.
JayC -
2025-05-19 @ 3:52 am
So Zach Oat has confirmed on his linkdin account that he has been laid off.
Also IDK how or if this will have any baring, but it should be noted that one of the two entities,Ad Populum who purchased the Diamond assets also owns NECA Toys.
Extremely sad news.I've been collecting Marvel Minimates for 20 years now. Minimates had almost every other toyline beat on character representation for the longest time. Minimates delved into the depths of B and C list characters that other lines wouldn't even consider for the longest time.Hell, we're *still* waiting on a Feral figure in Marvel Legends.The people who worked at DST genuinely listened to the fans. They were extremely active on the fan forums and message boards. I guarantee you that if you were a Select or Minimates fan, you will have interacted with Zach at some point, and that he'd have been extremely genuine and generous with his time and knowledge.I very much hope that whatever happens from here, the people who made DST what it was go on to bigger and better things. They deserve no less than the best.
This is unfortunate, both for those who were employed, and us as consumers. I personally liked the fact that there was an alternative line to Marvel Legends out there. My Immortal Hulk, Abomination, Sabretooth, Rocket, and Groot are all select figures. Despite the 7in scale, I like having my large characters tower over my Legends figures. It makes those characters even more larger than life.
i do hope those laid off find work quickly. It is always sad when this type of thing happens.
On 5/18/2025 at 3:25 PM, JayC said:I also suspect most retailers have seen the writing on the wall for this for a while so any small retailer or comic shop using Diamond as a Distributor probably had already started the ball rolling in finding other options.
Yeah, my LCS told me they hardly use Diamond as a supply-source at all now, and when they do it's mostly aggravation for them.
This is incredibly depressing, obviously for us fans because we won't get great looking Hobgoblin, Archangel and Annihilus but that's really nothing compared to what DST staff feels right now, people who lost their livelihoods, their Toy division was definitely promising it's too bad new owner lacked resources and/or vision to see the real potential of DST.
JayC -
2025-05-18 @ 9:25 pm
On 5/18/2025 at 5:20 PM, TheArrow said:A question was posed on a FB group/page if the outside distribution of other toys ( like Hasbro and Mattel , NECA stuff etc) was now done, because many small shops used Diamond to get their product from. It's unclear if that aspect is now gone too.
Diamond Distributors is different than DST's. So specifically to this news those are two different things, however their are reports of people being laid off on that side of the business as well but IDK if its being completely shut down. Their is more than one distributor out their for things like Hasbro and Mattel and NECA stuff. In fact many use Entertainment Earth who is a retailer and distributor for that type of stuff.
I also suspect most retailers have seen the writing on the wall for this for a while so any small retailer or comic shop using Diamond as a Distributor probably had already started the ball rolling in finding other options.
A question was posed on a FB group/page if the outside distribution of other toys ( like Hasbro and Mattel , NECA stuff etc) was now done, because many small shops used Diamond to get their product from. It's unclear if that aspect is now gone too.
tarot -
2025-05-18 @ 6:03 pm
I hope all who lost their jobs land on their feet again. It's always hard hearing this kind of thing.
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