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Well, here we are and we're glad that you found us. Since 1987, Right Stuf has been your source for Japanese Animation videos and merchandise.
For more information on the history of Right Stuf, check out the 2 part retrospective of the "20 Years of Right Stuf" as published in the Spring and Fall catalogs of 2007.
Right Stuf, Inc., headquartered in Grimes, Iowa, is a boutique independent video publisher and distributor of pre-recorded video programming. The company specializes in the unique niche of Japanese Animation, which also often referred to as “anime.”
While selling its own products, Right Stuf also resells and distributes merchandise which relates to this genre, including printed books, t-shirts, posters, audio CDs, and more. As of January 2007, Right Stuf has an available product line of more than 18,000 items, including products published by Right Stuf as well as those distributed and resold by the company on behalf of other suppliers. The company’s market position as a publisher and a distributor gives the company a unique advantage in the Japanese Animation marketplace. Although not the largest of the firms which publish in the industry, Right Stuf is the largest of the anime-specialty retail/distribution companies, through sales by Internet, mail, and telephone. Finally, the company also performs services for other industry firms, including the compilation of demographics, data entry, web site storefronts, and more.
Most recently, Right Stuf relocated to a new 76,000 square foot office and distribution center. This new facility will allow the company to continue to expand, while also being able to offer new services to its customers and vendors.
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Right Stuf publishes programming for the consumer market. This programming is divided into three market segments. The company label (Right Stuf's Nozomi Entertainment) publishes classic and modern anime programs, from family- and teen- oriented programs to live-action Japanese films. The AnimeTrax label publishes audio CD soundtrack titles of popular anime and game programs. In addition, Right Stuf designs and manufactures a full line of merchandise materials based on various anime titles.
The company releases new programming on a monthly basis. The Nozomi Entertainment division handles everything from licensing and relations with the Japanese rights holders, to the production work relating to the translation, dubbing, and DVD production of the program. The company’s production department handles all creation and printing of promotional documents, advertising materials, packaging and merchandise for Right Stuf's products.
In addition, the production division is also responsible for sublicensing and negotiating broadcast rights with television stations.
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Right Stuf resells its product and others into the market using a series of independent video distributors. This division works with these wholesale distributors to promote the programs and circulate them to retailers throughout the country. The company also remarkets its programming to the large video rental market, with placement in such venues for both rental and sell-through. Right Stuf's efforts in this area have accomplished not only sales growth to these retail outlets but also additional business for the company’s consumer fulfillment division as consumers rent programming and then migrate to purchasing of video and other merchandise product directly.
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Right Stuf created a mail order division in 1989 to better reach consumers throughout the market. As the industry at this time was in its infancy, many people had no access to such products in their area, so the division was created to give these individuals access to anime. As the market for Japanese Animation has grown, Right Stuf’s mail order catalog has added products from all publishers in the industry, ballooning the catalog from less than 20 products in 1989 to over 14,000 products in the latest version. The printed product book is generally considered the premier catalog in the anime industry. Right Stuf has also created specialty catalogs which contain, for example, only children’s products.
Right Stuf’s fulfillment operation is highly automated, and handles thousands of inquiries and orders by mail, electronic mail, and by telephone each day. Using custom written software, Right Stuf has been able to control costs and handle a large call volume with fewer employees than other similar firms. Because of its position in the anime industry and its efficiency, other publishers within the industry have contracted to outsource their consumer sales, website commerce presence, and end-user customer relations to the firm. This allows these firms to concentrate on their own wholesale sales of their products, and becomes a unique synergistic relationship between Right Stuf and their firms. In fact, Right Stuf is one of the largest customers of all of the publishers in the industry when it comes to total product purchases
for resale.
The company also markets its products through the Internet and maintains an e-commerce server which allows for secure credit card transactions. Customers can use this service 24 hours per day, and place their orders for both the company’s products and those of the rest of the industry. As mentioned above, the company also manages e-commerce activities and fulfills orders for products from the Internet sites of other industry publishers by contract. Right Stuf was the first of the anime publishers to have an online marketing and sales presence, dating back to 1995, providing customers with a convenient way to get industry news and purchase programming which might otherwise be unavailable to them. Right Stuf’s experience in this area allows the company to be positioned for continued rapid growth and customer retention.
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