Alliance Entertainment’s Handmade by Robots™ Launches First-to-Market Hello Kitty® Vinyl Figure at San Diego Comic-Con 2025

Rhea-AI Summary

Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ:AENT) has announced the launch of a limited-edition Hello Kitty® vinyl figure under its Handmade by Robots™ brand. The exclusive "Pink" edition will debut at San Diego Comic-Con (July 24-27, 2025) at the 7 Bucks A Pop booth (#4945).

The figure features Hello Kitty in Handmade by Robots' signature "knit-look" aesthetic, appearing hand-stitched while made from high-quality vinyl. This release is part of Alliance's expansion strategy following its December 2024 acquisition of Handmade by Robots. The company plans to release additional figures in H2 2025 featuring characters from major franchises including DC Comics, Harry Potter, Disney, and others.

Positive

• Expansion of product portfolio with globally recognized Hello Kitty brand
• Strategic growth of retail footprint following Handmade by Robots acquisition
• Strong licensing pipeline with major entertainment franchises for H2 2025

Negative

• None.

Limited collector edition “Pink” Hello Kitty makes exclusive debut at 7 Bucks A Pop booth #4945

SUNRISE, Fla., July 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alliance Entertainment Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: AENT), a leading distributor and fulfillment partner of entertainment and pop culture collectibles, today announced the launch of a new limited-edition Handmade by Robots™ vinyl figure featuring global lifestyle brand, Sanrio® and its beloved character and icon Hello Kitty®.

New limited-edition Handmade by Robots™ vinyl figure featuring global lifestyle brand, Sanrio® and its beloved character and icon Hello Kitty®

Crafted in Handmade by Robots’ signature “knit-look” aesthetic, the Hello Kitty figure appears as if hand-stitched, while constructed from high-quality vinyl. The exclusive “Pink” edition will make its first-to-market debut at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC), July 24–27, 2025, available only at the 7 Bucks A Pop booth (#4945).

“This Comic-Con debut is a celebration of one of the world’s most beloved characters reimagined through our signature design lens,” said Jeff Walker, CEO of Alliance Entertainment. “Fans of Hello Kitty and vinyl collectibles alike won’t want to miss this unique release ahead of its broader retail rollout later this year.”

Officially licensed by Sanrio, the release marks Handmade by Robots’ latest entry in a growing portfolio of stylized figures based on top entertainment franchises. “We continue to build momentum behind Handmade by Robots, and we’re leveraging our platform to unlock its full potential,” added Walker.

The Hello Kitty launch is part of a broader 2025 roadmap for Handmade by Robots, which Alliance acquired in December 2024. Since the acquisition, Alliance has rapidly expanded the brand’s retail footprint and licensing pipeline. Major new figure releases slated for the second half of 2025 include characters from DC Comics, Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Peanuts, Disney, Sonic the Hedgehog, SpongeBob SquarePants, Star Trek, and more.

For more information, visit www.handmadebyrobots.com.

About Sanrio®

Sanrio® is the global lifestyle brand best known for Hello Kitty® who was created in 1974, and home to many other beloved character brands such as My Melody™, Kuromi™, LittleTwinStars™, Cinnamoroll™, Pompompurin™, gudetama™, Aggretsuko™, Chococat™, Badtz-Maru™ and Keroppi™. Sanrio was founded on the philosophy that a small gift can bring happiness and friendship to people of all ages. Since 1960, this philosophy has served as the inspiration to offer quality products, services and activities that promote communication and inspire unique consumer experiences across the world. Today, Sanrio’s business extends into the entertainment industry with several content series, gaming offerings and theme parks. Sanrio boasts an extensive product lineup which is available in over 130 countries. Sanrio hopes to bring smiles to everyone’s faces with their vision of “One World, Connecting Smiles.” To learn more about Sanrio, please visit www.sanrio.com and follow @sanrio and @hellokitty on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, Pinterest and subscribe to the Hello Kitty and Friends YouTube Channel.

About Alliance Entertainment

Alliance Entertainment (NASDAQ: AENT) is a premier distributor and fulfillment partner for the entertainment and pop culture collectibles industry. With more than 325,000 unique in-stock SKUs — including over 57,300 exclusive titles across compact discs, vinyl LPs, DVDs, Blu-rays, and video games — Alliance offers the largest selection of physical media in the market. Our vast catalog also includes licensed merchandise, toys, retro gaming products, and collectibles, serving over 35,000 retail locations and powering e-commerce fulfillment for leading retailers. The company’s growing collectibles portfolio includes Handmade by Robots™, a stylized vinyl figure line featuring licensed characters from leading entertainment franchises. Leveraging decades of operational expertise, exclusive licensing partnerships, and a capital-light, scalable infrastructure, Alliance is a trusted partner to the world’s top entertainment brands and retailers. Our omnichannel platform connects collectors and fans to the products, franchises, and experiences they love — across formats and generations. 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:

Dave Gentry
RedChip Companies, Inc.
1-407-644-4256
AENT@redchip.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e0ce645f-be79-412d-bd5a-e37071e95f4a

FAQ

When will the Handmade by Robots Hello Kitty vinyl figure be released at SDCC 2025?

The exclusive 'Pink' edition Hello Kitty figure will debut at San Diego Comic-Con from July 24-27, 2025 at the 7 Bucks A Pop booth #4945.

What major franchises will Handmade by Robots (NASDAQ:AENT) release in 2025?

Handmade by Robots plans to release figures from DC Comics, Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Peanuts, Disney, Sonic the Hedgehog, SpongeBob SquarePants, and Star Trek in the second half of 2025.

When did Alliance Entertainment acquire Handmade by Robots?

Alliance Entertainment acquired Handmade by Robots in December 2024.

What is unique about the Handmade by Robots Hello Kitty vinyl figure design?

The Hello Kitty figure features Handmade by Robots' signature 'knit-look' aesthetic, appearing hand-stitched while being constructed from high-quality vinyl.

Will the Hello Kitty Handmade by Robots figure be available in retail stores?

Yes, the Hello Kitty figure will have a broader retail rollout later in 2025 following its exclusive SDCC debut.