Alliance Entertainment Announces Partnership with High-end Collectible Sales Channel Grail Game

PLANTATION, Fla., Dec. 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DirectToU LLC, a division of Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AENT) (“Alliance Entertainment”, “Company”), a distributor and wholesaler of the world’s largest in stock selection of music, movies, video games, electronics, arcades, toys and collectibles, today announced that it has partnered with Grail Game, the premier specialty bid site for high end collectibles, to create a new sales channel, and mystery box experiences for collectors.

Grail Game has revolutionized the mystery box experience. Their simple mantra is "Digital Games -> Physical Prizes", which means you can go to grailgame.com and open your mystery box immediately on your computer or mobile device to reveal your prize in real time, and then have the prize physically shipped to your house. Or if you do not like your prize, you can "swap" it for more Gold Coins which can be used to purchase additional boxes. Each mystery box is unique and verified via Grail Game’s state-of-the-art hashrate system, which makes these games provably fair. Grailgame.com is powered by Mystery Grail, the industry leader in weekly Funko POP! mystery boxes. On Sunday, December 3rd Grail Game dropped their biggest box yet with the top hit “Hunt 4 Planet Arlia Vegeta” Funko POP! with an estimated value of $5,160 and one lucky person obtained this incredible Grail for only $15. This 3,000 box run was sponsored by popmarket, a wholly-owned brand of Alliance Entertainment.

“Our first game sold out 3,000 boxes in only 18 hours as fans of high end collectibles had the opportunity to win them in a Grail Game,” said Jeff Walker, CEO and CFO of Alliance Entertainment. "We see a huge opportunity in big Grail Games for Exclusive Collectibles, KPOP, Vinyl, Video Games and all entertainment that people love to collect. Grail Game will be a significant new sales channel for Alliance as we move forward in developing nontraditional ways of selling entertainment products.”

Evans Richards, President of Grail Game, added, "We are truly excited by the engagement we've seen from fans and collectors in this new way to imagine online direct to consumer shopping. As we welcome partnerships with excellent companies like Alliance Entertainment, we will be able to open up an even wider realm of products, categories and engaging content driven gameplay to our customers. Providing customers and brands a great new form of online commerce."

According to Tim Hinsley, General Manager of DirectToU and Senior Vice President of Retail at Alliance Entertainment, “Grail Game’s expertise in high end collectibles, combined with popmarket’s brand presence and Alliance’s market power is an enticing combination. We cannot wait to bring exciting new opportunities to collectors everywhere.”

Alliance and Grail Game plan to continue growing their collectibles collaboration and expand into other product areas, including highly sought-after Vinyl Record, KPOP and gaming items.

About Grail Game

Grail Game currently offers mystery boxes for a variety of collectibles, including Funko, Pokemon cards, Disney Lorcana, FiGPiN and Lego, with many more to come. Future categories include comics, video games, records, sneakers & streetwear, sports cards & memorabilia, and even high-end whiskey & wine. Stay tuned for many more exciting categories and game types available on our site soon. For more information on how everything works, you can visit grailgame.com.

About popmarket

Specializing in sought-after vinyl, collectibles, boxed sets and specialty items, popmarket is where customers flock to fill their collections. Working with the supplier community and its parent company, Alliance Entertainment, popmarket strives to bring frontline, highly sought after items to the online marketplace at competitive prices, and all domestic orders ship free. Your Collection Is Never Complete! Visit us at popmarket.com.

About DirectToU LLC

DirectToU LLC (“DTU”), a division of Alliance Entertainment, is the retail brand-centric home for all things entertainment. Led by in-house brands Critics’ Choice, DeepDiscount, Movies Unlimited, Collectors’ Choice, popmarket and WowHD, DTU retails Alliance’s vast variety of products across in-house websites, mail-order catalogs, third party marketplaces (including Amazon, Walmart and eBay), social media (including Facebook and TikTok) and specialty retailers (including Urban Outfitters and Discogs). With a successful retail history dating to 1978, DTU boasts a dedicated and well-renowned team of experts in the Film, TV, Music, Gaming and Collectibles industries, acting as a vital bridge between the creative community and their legion of fans.

About Alliance Entertainment

Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ: AENT) is a premier distributor of music, movies, toys, collectibles, and consumer electronics. We offer over 375,000 unique in stock SKU’s, including over 57,300 exclusive compact discs, vinyl LP records, DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games. Complementing our vast media catalog, we also stock a full array of related accessories, toys and collectibles. With more than thirty-five years of distribution experience, Alliance Entertainment serves customers of every size, providing a robust suite of services to resellers and retailers worldwide. Our efficient processing and essential seller tools noticeably reduce the costs associated with administrating multiple vendor relationships, while helping omni-channel retailers expand their product selection and fulfillment goals. For more information, visit www.aent.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements included in this Press Release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally are accompanied by words such as “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “expect,” “should,” “would,” “plan,” “predict,” “potential,” “seem,” “seek,” “future,” “outlook,” and similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding estimates and forecasts of other financial and performance metrics and projections of market opportunity. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether identified in this Press Release, and on the current expectations of Alliance’s management and are not predictions of actual performance. These forward-looking statements are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to serve as and must not be relied on by an investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, a prediction, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and will differ from assumptions. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Alliance. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including risks relating to the anticipated growth rates and market opportunities; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the ability of Alliance to execute its business model, including market acceptance of its systems and related services; Alliance’s reliance on a concentration of suppliers for its products and services; increases in Alliance’s costs, disruption of supply, or shortage of products and materials; Alliance’s dependence on a concentration of customers, and failure to add new customers or expand sales to Alliance’s existing customers; increased Alliance inventory and risk of obsolescence; Alliance’s significant amount of indebtedness; our ability to refinance our existing indebtedness; our ability to continue as a going concern absent access to sources of liquidity; risks and failure by Alliance to meet the covenant requirements of its revolving credit facility, including a fixed charge coverage ratio; risks that a breach of the revolving credit facility, including Alliance’s recent breach of the covenant requirements, could result in the lender declaring a default and that the full outstanding amount under the revolving credit facility could be immediately due in full, which would have severe adverse consequences for the Company; known or future litigation and regulatory enforcement risks, including the diversion of time and attention and the additional costs and demands on Alliance’s resources; Alliance’s business being adversely affected by increased inflation, higher interest rates and other adverse economic, business, and/or competitive factors; geopolitical risk and changes in applicable laws or regulations; risk that the COVID-19 pandemic, and local, state, and federal responses to addressing the pandemic may have an adverse effect on our business operations, as well as our financial condition and results of operations; substantial regulations, which are evolving, and unfavorable changes or failure by Alliance to comply with these regulations; product liability claims, which could harm Alliance’s financial condition and liquidity if Alliance is not able to successfully defend or insure against such claims; availability of additional capital to support business growth; and the inability of Alliance to develop and maintain effective internal controls.

For investor inquiries, please contact:
MZ Group
Chris Tyson/Larry Holub
(949) 491-8235
AENT@mzgroup.us 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a3508363-4b6d-4c6c-aead-0bbb4f0a2404