Original Genius Brands International, Inc. Press Release via
GlobeNewswire:
Genius Brands International, Inc. Issues Shareholder Letter
Genius Brands International's Preschool brands, Rainbow Rangers, and Llama Llama
Genius Brands International Launches Retail Programs for Rainbow Rangers and Llama Llama in 2019
Photo: Genius Brands International, Inc.
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genius Brands International, Inc. “Genius Brands” (NASDAQ: GNUS), the global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia entertainment content for children, released a letter to shareholders from Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward. The complete letter follows:
RAINBOW RANGERS RATINGS ON NICK JR. CONTINUE TO SOAR!!
“WALMART AND VITAMINS!!!”
Dear Genius Brands International Shareholders:
Last weekend I had the privilege to be the Master of Ceremonies for the annual fundraising gala for the Helen R. Walton Children’s Enrichment Center, in Bentonville, Arkansas, chaired by Jim Iannone, CEO of Sam’s Club.com. It was a spectacular event for the worthiest cause and capped a weekend for me in Bentonville and Northwest Arkansas. In addition to the event, I was also a guest on the local Late-Night talk show, “
Later with Jason Suel.” The following morning on Sunday, I was fortunate to be given a private tour of the original Walton’s 5&10 store on Main Street in Bentonville.
You might wonder what this has to do with building the
Rainbow Rangers brand or Genius Brands International? In a word…
EVERYTHING.
With the demise of Toys“R”Us, the importance of Walmart, which was already immense, has increased by orders of magnitude. Every week in the United States, Walmart has approximately 170 million customers. Think of it this way:
1 out of every 2 men, women, and children in America are shopping in a Walmart every single week.
It is not only the #1 destination for toys, but for virtually every category of commerce one can imagine, including apparel, publishing, school supplies, bedding, costumes, party goods, backpacks, sleepwear, bicycles, health and beauty, and so forth.
With over
350 product SKUs for
Rainbow Rangers alone coming to the market, having a first-class relationship with Walmart is essential. Of course, other mass retailers such as Target and Amazon are also significant, but we cannot ignore that Walmart alone, has over 50% of the market share.
Having said the above, let’s talk a little about
Rainbow Rangers.
The show continues to perform exceptionally well on Nick Jr. We have been in a number of different time periods since we launched last November 5. The show broadcasts Monday through Friday in the afternoon, and then again on Sunday mornings. Six days a week is a powerful statement for a broadcaster and a massive vote of confidence. We have had many different lead-ins, including
Dora the Explorer (Sundays),
Sunny Day,
Shimmer and Shine, and
Nella the Princess Knight.
Across the entire season to date, Rainbow Rangers has been able to improve upon the ratings of its lead-in shows.
The industry ‘buzz’ for
Rainbow Rangers continues to grow. From the start, I have said that this program has every possibility to become the next
Paw Patrol, a multi-billion dollar brand, and in the most recent Toy Book, the new CEO of TRU Kids, Richard Barry, actually links the successes in preschool, of
Paw Patrol with
Rainbow Rangers.
"Finally, another stable category in which we predict continued growth is preschool, with product from kids’ favorite programs,
such as Paw Patrol, PJ Masks, Peppa Pig, and Rainbow Rangers,
seeing the most action.” (Richard Barry)
https://toybook.com/state-of-the-industry-qa-tru-kids-brands/
We are actively planning our second season with the various stakeholders, and we anticipate announcing this news formally and indicated what that means when we hold our Investor Conference Call on April 1, upon the filing of our 10K.
In the meantime, let’s look at some of the products coming to market from
both Rainbow Rangers (Nickelodeon) and
Llama Llama (Netflix). (see attached image)
These products will be powerful drivers of Genius Brands revenue and earnings for the future. They are all top-tier manufacturers, and virtually all are the same Disney licensees that create products for
Frozen,
The Avengers,
The Incredibles, and the like.
Llama Llama continues to perform successfully on Netflix where we have just begun deliveries of the second season, and the new episodes are looking even better than the first season. Netflix has repeatedly expressed their excitement about the new season’s episodes. We have also expanded the storyline of
Llama Llama by adding a character with disabilities who is not only a strong positive character but also who strongly supports the message of diversity and inclusivity, and has been extremely well received across our licensing base as well.
As we get closer and closer to
Rainbow Rangers products on shelf, the brand continues to grow each week, and we are more excited than ever about the future!!
-Andy
Forward-Looking Statements:
Certain statements in this press release constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Words such as "may," "might," "will," "should," "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," "predict," "forecast," "project," "plan," "intend" or similar expressions, or statements regarding intent, belief, or current expectations, are forward-looking statements. While the Company believes these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on any such forward-looking statements, which are based on information available to us on the date of this release. These forward-looking statements are based upon current estimates and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties, including without limitation those set forth in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), not limited to Risk Factors relating to its patent business contained therein. Thus, actual results could be materially different. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6d82900b-fd23-4b7d-9102-7cd02eb69bff
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Update (3/29) - Genius Brands International to Host Business Update Conference Call and 2018 Year End Results on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at 10 AM ET/7 AM PT
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 29, 2019 -- Genius Brands International, Inc. ("Genius Brands") (GNUS),
announced today that its Chairman & CEO, Andy Heyward, will host an investor update conference call on Tuesday, April 2 at 10 AM ET/7 AM PT to discuss the Company’s fourth quarter 2018 year-end financial results and business update with particular emphasis on the growth of its two preschool brands:
Rainbow Rangers, currently airing on Nickelodeon’s Nick Jr., and
Llama Llama, available on Netflix.
Conference Call Information:
When: Tuesday, April 2 at 10 AM ET/7 AM PT
Dial-in: U.S.: 877-407-8291 and International: 201-689-8345
Please join the conference call at least 15 minutes early to register. A digital replay will be available by telephone approximately two hours after the completion of the call until June 30, 2019 and may be accessed by dialing 877-660-6853 from the U.S. or for international callers, 201-612-7415 and using the Conference ID: 13689227.
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More Nick: Nickelodeon Embarks on New Direction with its Biggest, Most Wide-Ranging Content Slate Ever | Nick Upfront 2019!
Originally published: Wednesday, March 13, 2019.
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