 A poster advertising products for sale; licensed by Seltaeb | |
| Company type | Merchandising |
|---|---|
| Industry | Merchandising |
| Founded | 1963 |
| Headquarters | New York |
Area served | International |
Key people | Nicky Byrne, Lord Peregrine Eliot, Mark Warman, Simon Miller-Munday, John Fenton, and Malcolm Evans |
| Products | Beatle dolls, scarves, mugs, bath water, wigs, badges, T-shirts, bubble gum, licorice, empty cans of 'Beatle Breath', and many more |
| Parent | NEMS Enterprises: Brian Epstein (b. 19 September 1934, d. 27 August 1967) and lawyer David Jacobs (b. 1912, d. 15 December 1968) |
| Subsidiaries | Stramsact |
Seltaeb was a company set up in 1963 by Nicky Byrne (né Douglas Anthony Nicholas Byrne) to exclusively look after merchandising interests on behalf of Brian Epstein, who managed NEMS Enterprises and the Beatles: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
Directly prior to the Beatles' first American visit, Brian Epstein wanted someone to manage the escalating volume of merchandising requests that NEMS found itself unable to cope with, and asked his lawyer, David Jacobs, to oversee this task. Jacobs knew Nicky Byrne and asked him if he would be interested in taking over the merchandising subdivision from NEMS altogether, paying NEMS a commission. Byrne accepted the offer subject to a 90% rate, leaving only 10% for the Beatles and NEMS combined. Completely unaware of the potential market that existed, particularly in the United States, Epstein agreed to the deal, and subsequently lost the Beatles an estimated $100,000,000 in possible income.
In December 1963, Byrne took over the control of Stramsact in the UK, and then set up Seltaeb (Beatles spelt backwards) in the United States. Epstein was able to renegotiate a more favourable commission of 49% in August 1964, but then became embroiled in a three-year court battle with Byrne regarding payment of monies due, during which time potential sponsors lost interest. In August 1967 Epstein died, from what was ruled an accidental overdose of a prescribed drug. Jacobs was found hanged in his garage on 15 December 1968. Byrne later retired to the Bahamas.