A US bankruptcy court judge has approved the sale of a majority of the assets of the Rubie’s Costume Company, the largest costume designer, manufacturer and distributor in the United States – as well as several related entities – to investment group NECA, which is owned by strategic operator and managing partner Joel Weinshanker.
The sale allows the 70 year old company to utilise its best in-class supply chain and over one million square feet of North American manufacturing and distribution space in order to service its many thousands of accounts.
The new management will look to leverage Rubie’s world-class innovation and creative capabilities while utilising its omni-channel retailing capabilities to continue offering a best in class performance. Rubie’s currently has the capacity to distribute thousands of wholesale and over 100,000 B2C orders each day.
Founded 70 years ago in New York by Rubin and Tillie Beige, Rubie’s is a market leader of both licensed and generic costumes and party products. A vast assortment of licences includes Marvel Comics, Star Wars, Jurassic World, Star Trek, DC Comics, Barbie, Disney, Elvis Presley, Stranger Things and many others. Rubie’s costumes are sold by retail partners throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, South America, Asia and Australia.
Following the sale, Rubie’s will emerge as a newly-formed entity owned by strategic operator and managing partner Joel Weinshanker, founder of the National Entertainment Collectors Association (NECA), with funds managed by Atalaya Capital Management and members of the Beige family.
“We would like to thank our stakeholders and the hundreds of employees who will be taking the new journey with us,” said Joel Weinshanker. “We look forward to elevating the properties of our licensing partners with quality and innovation, and we will strive to provide our retail partners with the best products and the best tools to service their customers.”
“The future is bright at Rubie’s,” he continued. “We will continue to dominate the Halloween space and make it even clearer to everyone that there is only one place like home for Halloween – Rubie’s.”
It is not yet clear how international companies and offices of Rubie’s will be affected by the sale.
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