{"id":2282148,"date":"2026-02-14T17:54:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-14T17:54:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2282148"},"modified":"2026-02-14T17:54:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-14T17:54:35","slug":"a-new-era-for-entertainment-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/a-new-era-for-entertainment-earth\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Era for Entertainment Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

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New leadership, fresh programs, and a robust entertainment slate position the retail pioneer and its distribution arm for continued growth as it celebrates three decades in the business.<\/em><\/p>\n

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A new leader has taken the helm as CEO at Entertainment Earth<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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John Louie is an industry veteran with more than 25 years of experience in consumer products and licensing, spanning roles at Warner Bros., Mattel, and The Walt Disney Co., and, most recently, Funko. Throughout his career, he\u2019s seen fandom evolve.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI have been fortunate to be around powerful brands and consumer products throughout my career,\u201d Louie says. \u201cAlong the way, I\u2019ve been through a variety of roles across different companies that have helped me build new skills and establish some wonderful relationships. That\u2019s brought me to Entertainment Earth, which is the perfect confluence of all of these things together.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Entertainment Earth\u2019s 30-year legacy started with selling Star Wars action figures in the \u201990s. Pictured: The Star Wars Retro Collection Return of the Jedi assortment by Hasbro. | Source: Entertainment Earth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Louie enters the company as it celebrates its milestone 30th anniversary. On April 1, 1996, brothers Aaron and Jason Labowitz flipped the switch<\/a> on an e-commerce website sparked by Kenner\u2019s relaunch of Star Wars<\/a> at retail. Despite the date, the business they built is no joke.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is an exciting time for the company and industry,\u201d Louie says. \u201cI\u2019ve been familiar with Entertainment Earth for quite a while, both as a fan and on the business side. I know that our roots have been in celebrating and promoting fandom, which is its strong foundation. Early on, I still feel like there\u2019s room for further growth and opportunity by celebrating fans and fandoms.\u00a0 So much has changed in the past 30 years: the way that fandoms have evolved, the way that we receive and ingest content, and the way we buy and express our passions.\u00a0 I think Entertainment Earth remains poised to be at the forefront of that fandom evolution, and I\u2019m excited to help us lead into this new era.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Entertainment Earth is celebrating 30 years in the industry with a two-pronged approach that honors both fans and partners. The company is cracking open its vault to give away some of the most iconic Entertainment Earth-exclusive merchandise from the past, including many items that are now holy grail finds for collectors. On the B2B side, Entertainment Earth\u2019s EE Distribution<\/a> arm is launching a new award program for its retail partners, recognizing the best stores in the West, Midwest, South, and Northeast, as well as the best new brick-and-mortar stores, online shops, and its oldest partners.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\tOur retail, manufacturing, and vendor partners are so important and integral to Entertainment Earth\u2019s success and continued growth. This 30th anniversary is a prime opportunity for us to reinforce those partnerships across the entire industry.\u201d\t\t\t<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tJohn Louie, CEO of Entertainment Earth\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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As the company heads into the anniversary year, it\u2019s also expanding into the B2B trading card space. Trading cards have been a hot category in the past few years, with growth even during times of economic uncertainty.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe\u2019ve started tapping into trading cards, particularly with a great relationship with Pok\u00e9mon,\u201d Louie explains. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen that services not only an important fandom, but also a lot of the retail partners that we already service by helping them expand their customer base, and get to more fans in a deeper way. We are strategically looking to add some partners to build that out. I think there\u2019s more opportunity here.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Retailers can soon look to EE Distribution for new products from Topps, Kayou, and others.<\/p>\n

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Brands carried by EE Distribution | Source: Entertainment Earth<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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This year\u2019s massive entertainment slate powers plenty of options across the company\u2019s core collectibles business, including products timed to the biggest streaming and theatrical releases.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhat an embarrassment of riches this year,\u201d says Elizabeth Ing, Director of Marketing at Entertainment Earth. \u201cWe\u2019re starting with Maul: Shadow Lord<\/em>, then going into The Mandalorian & Grogu<\/em>. We\u2019re also going to have Spider-Man: Brand New Day<\/em> and Avengers: Doomsday<\/em>. Masters of the Universe<\/em> is also this year. We have the live-action One Piece<\/em> season two. There\u2019s just so much. I really feel there\u2019s so much to be excited about this year as a fan.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Appropriately tying back to Entertainment Earth\u2019s roots, Lucasfilm\u2019s Star Wars:<\/em> The Mandalorian & Grogu<\/em>, in particular, has an expansive licensing program packed with toys, collectibles, and other products for all ages.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDisney\u2019s done a wonderful job with the Star Wars franchise, taking care to make sure that it respects and honors the original fans as well as reaches and resonates with new consumers,\u201d Louie says. \u201cThat\u2019s a very, very difficult thing to balance, especially experimenting with different media platforms.\u00a0 But we are really excited for the next stages of Star Wars, and the content we\u2019ve seen so far in the trailers, along with what we\u2019ve been able to see behind the curtain, has made us salivate.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Entertainment Earth partners with top merch makers to bring exclusive collectibles to retail. | Source: Entertainment Earth<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

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Entertainment Earth partners with top merch makers to bring exclusive collectibles to retail. | Source: Entertainment Earth<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

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Entertainment Earth partners with top merch makers to bring exclusive collectibles to retail. | Source: Entertainment Earth<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n

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Entertainment Earth is sharing all the details on its plans for this year at its new location at Toy Fair New York, Booth No. 675 on the main floor.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\u201cI love that convention,\u201d Louie says. \u201cI love the opportunity to meet all of our partners face-to-face. There\u2019s only so much that [a] Zoom [call] can do. I think for us, figuring out what our friends and fans and partners are excited about and listening to that more carefully will help us be better partners to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The collector marketplace looks nothing like it did in 1996, yet the fundamentals remain: fandom drives the business, retail powers the channel, and entertainment keeps the machine fed. With Louie at the helm and a milestone year ahead, Entertainment Earth is leaning in and betting that the next era of growth belongs to the companies that treat fandom as both culture and commerce.<\/p>\n

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Calling all Retailers:<\/h3>\n

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EE Distribution<\/a>, a division of Entertainment Earth, is a one-stop wholesale distributor serving independent specialty retailers. The company stocks thousands of toys, games, collectibles, trading cards, and gift items from hundreds of manufacturers. With low minimum order requirements and expert sales reps, EE Distribution has the tools to help retailers succeed and grow their businesses.<\/p>\n

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