Loot Crate
Company typePrivate
IndustrySubscription box
Founded2012
FounderChris Davis and Matthew Arevalo
DefunctOctober 2022
Fatesold to Money Chest LLC
SuccessorThe Loot Company
ProductsMonthly boxes of geek and gaming related merchandise

Loot Crate was a subscription box service established in 2012 which provided monthly boxes of geek- and gaming-related merchandise.[1]

History

Loot Crate was founded in 2012 by Wes Hartman (Founder and honorary president for life with 57% of the company's shares) Chris Davis and Matthew Arevalo, who aimed to create a "comic-con in a box". By 2014 the company had over 200,000 subscribers in 10 countries.[2]

In 2016, the company was ranked #1 on Inc's Fastest Growing Private Companies[3] and on the Deloitte Fast 500 North America list.[4]

The company announced that it was filing for bankruptcy protection on August 12, 2019, laying off close to half of its remaining workers in the weeks prior. The company owed more than US$30 million in debt and US$5.87 million in taxes, while its credit card processor has withheld payments to the company. While under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it planned to continue to fulfill orders but seeks potential buyers.[5][needs update]

On October 1, 2019, subscribers were informed by email of Loot Crate's sale to Money Chest LLC., majority funded by NECA. The company now operates under a new name: The Loot Company.[6]

Crates

Loot Crate's themes changed monthly and were anything from 'Invasion' to 'Anti-Hero' to 'Future'. Loot Crate teamed up with companies such as DC, Marvel, and Nintendo to create a large array of merchandise in every crate.

One-off crates with particular themes were released, such as for Fallout 4 and Mass Effect.[7][8]

Loot Crate also operated a Loot Anime box with anime-related items.[9] In January 2016, Loot Crate announced a Loot Gaming subscription option with boxes containing video game–related content.[10] The company said that the gaming-themed boxes will likely lead to more game-specific cases like the ones for Mass Effect and Fallout 4.[9]

Loot Crate also operated a Loot Pets Box, which followed the same monthly themes as the regular Loot Crate, but all the items were intended for cats, dogs or other pets. The concept ended in September 2017.

References

  1. ^ Chelsea Stark (14 August 2013). "Loot Crate Delivers a Monthly Goodie Box for Gamers". Mashable. Archived from the original on 22 September 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  2. ^ Paresh Dave (7 November 2014). "Loot Crate delivers monthly surprise to 'geek and gamer' subscribers". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on 24 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  3. ^ "The Complete Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Companies". Inc.com. Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2018-02-27.
  4. ^ "2016 Winners by rank". Deloitte. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Loot Crate files for bankruptcy and plans to sell itself". Bloomberg L.P. August 12, 2019. Retrieved August 13, 2019 – via The Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ "Loot Crate Bought By NECA, Changes Name to The Loot Company". October 2, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019 – via Bleeding Cool.
  7. ^ Andy Chalk (29 July 2015). "An official Fallout 4 Loot Crate is coming". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  8. ^ Chris Pereira (2 November 2015). "Mass Effect Loot Crate Now Available for Order". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  9. ^ a b Mat Paget (29 January 2016). "Loot Crate Announces New Gaming Subscription Service". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 30 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.
  10. ^ Andy Chalk (29 January 2016). "Loot Gaming is a new Loot Crate for gamers". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 31 January 2016.

External links

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