Diamond II LLC, the company formed by NECA and WizKids parent Ad Populum to handle the comic and toy assets acquired from Diamond Comic Distributors (see “Under New Ownership”), has announced big changes for the new year to its newsletter, marketing, and systems. Those changes include the end of Diamond Daily and the launch of marketing and systems for Diamond Select Brands by Ad Populum sister company Enesco.
The end of Diamond Daily was announced in a message announcing his retirement from Lance Woods, who was the Managing Editor of the daily newsletter for the past nine years, and at Diamond for 34 years. His departure at the end of 2025 coincides with the end of the Diamond newsletter, which is being shut down in conjunction with the launch of a new Diamond website in January, according to his message. In recent months, Diamond Daily has been messaging retailers with inventory liquidation messaging related to the inventory acquired in the Diamond bankruptcy auction.
Separately, Diamond II also sent a message alerting customers that it is partnering with Enesco for future marketing communications related to Diamond Select Brands, which will come from Enesco email addresses. Ad Populum company Enesco is a wholesaler serving over 44,000 customers worldwide in the giftware and home and garden décor industries. Enesco systems will be used to modernize Diamond processes, according to the message. Based on the Diamond Daily messaging, it appears that Diamond Select Brands will include all of the business formerly conducted by Diamond II.
The end of the year was a convenient time for changes by the acquirers of Diamond assets; Universal Distribution, which acquired the game distribution assets, rebranded Alliance Game Distributors and launched a new website this week (see “Alliance Game Distributors Rebranded”).
Source: ICv2
