Headquarters: 2265 E. 220th St., Long Beach, CA 90810

Phone: 213-PIONEER or 800-526-0363

Fax: 310-952-2809
Website URL: www.pioneeranimation.com, www.tenchitv.com, www.kidsanimation.com

Business founded: Established as a subsidiary of Pioneer Electronics in 1994, converted from a limited partnership to a corporation in 2001.

Employees: 80+

Number of locations: Corporate office, 3 sales branches and 1 warehouse.

Consumer/Customer service contact:
Handled by The RightStuf, Inc.

Phone: 1-800-421-1621

Fax: 1-515-252-0555

First-time retailer contact:
Phone: 1-800-526-0363

First-time distributor contact:
Phone: 1-800-526-0363

Properties

The majority of Pioneer's products are based on licensed properties.  The most notable properties include Akira, Pokemon (a joint venture with Viz), Tenchi Muyo, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Dragonball Z, Ah! My Goddess, Fushigi Yugi, Trigun, Serial Experiments: Lain, and Armitage III.  They have also licensed their properties primarily for merchandising and apparel to companies such as McFarlane Toys, Giant Merchandising, Palisades Toys and others.

Products

Popular Japanese anime programming made available on VHS and DVD formats (Akira, Pokemon, Tenchi Muyo, Sailor Moon, Cardcaptors, Dragonball Z, Ah! My Goddess, Fushigi Yugi, Trigun, Serial Experiments: Lain, and Armitage III).  Products are sold through such channels as the specialty brick and mortar retailers, which include comic stores, video stores, toy stores, game stores and video game stores; and catalogue retailers and e-commerce retailers. 

Becoming an account

Pioneer does not sell directly to consumers (all direct orders are handled by their fulfillment house, The RightStuff, Inc.).  Retailers can purchase Pioneer products through most major hobby distributors such as Diamond Comic Distributors, Alliance Game Distributors, Georgia Music and FM International.  Video distributors that carry pioneer products include Ingram, Baker & Taylor, Valley, and Alliance Music.

Retailers can order directly but must meet certain minimum criteria: $5,000 initial order, $50,000 wholesale order/year, a good credit history, and have a valid retail certificate. The standard credit terms are 1% net 10 and maximum credit terms are net 60.

Marketing

Consumer marketing: advertising in magazines, radio, and distributor catalogues. Conventions attended and a website is maintained.  Trade marketing: advertising in trade magazines, online, and distributor catalogues.  Trade shows attended, retailer mailings, and e-mails.

Products/orders

Orders are solicited in advance of manufacturing and the results are used to help gauge production quantities. Products are generally available for reorders.

Retailer sales