Crunchyroll closes deal to purchase Right Stuf Anime
On Thursday, online anime and manga streaming platform Crunchyroll announced that it has acquired another prominent online anime and manga retailer, Right Stuf Anime. The aim of the acquisition is to expand Crunchyroll’s eCommerce offerings, according to the press release.
“For 35 years, Right Stuf’s mission has been to connect anime fans with the products they love,” said Shawne Kleckner, CEO of Right Stuf. “Joining forces with Crunchyroll allows us to accelerate and scale this effort more than ever before. There has never been a more exciting time to be an anime fan than today!”
Kleckner and the team at Right Stuf will join Crunchyroll’s “Emerging Business” organization, which is led by Terry Li. Right Stuf was founded in 1987 and is primarily focused on selling anime pop culture merchandise online. The company’s eCommerce platform stocks Blu-rays, manga books, figurines, other collectables, music, and more.
This is Crunchyroll’s second big acquisition in the digital anime and manga space. In March, the streaming company announced that it had merged with its competitor, Funimation. Funimation as a service broadcasted to 52 countries in over 10 languages. The merger brought Funimation, VRV, and Wakanim all together under the Crunchyroll umbrella. Thus, any shows that were previously only available on one service or the other are now all available through Crunchyroll. Fans who had a Funimation premium subscription were sent codes to redeem 60 days of free Crunchyroll premium after the merger was announced.
Crunchyroll seems bent on continuing to consolidate the digital anime and manga industry by acquiring yet another major player in Right Stuf Anime. The company now has a massive streaming library, and an eCommerce platform to sell collectibles and other merchandise that it was previously lacking. With these additions to the brand umbrella, Crunchyroll has taken another step towards dominating digital anime and manga distribution in the West and around the world.
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