Comics Retailers Are Optimistic Despite Market Changes, Sales Declines

Despite a drop in sales in 2017 and store closings, the mood was mostly upbeat at the 2018 Diamond Retailer summit, held April 6-8 in conjunction with the C2E2 pop culture convention in Chicago. Many retailers indicated to PW that they are beginning to see a slight upturn in sales in recent months.

But this comes after a year in which sales were down in every category. According to figures released by Diamond Comics Distributors—which distributes comics and graphic novels to a network of about 2,000 specialty comics shops around the country—periodical comics sales were down 10% in 2017 compared to 2016, graphic novels declined 9% and the number of direct market stores served by Diamond slipped about 1%.

The 1% drop in comics shops serviced by Diamond is the first time the number of stores has declined in several years, noted Chris Powell, Diamond’s v-p of retailer sales. Over the last six months, the comics industry has been rocked by the closing of several long running stores, most notably Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles, which closed its door at the end of March.

Still, the reasons for store closing aren’t always just bad sales, according to several retailers. Some older store owners have decided to move on; at least one retailer closed his physical store after a health issue; others have converted to mail order only. The current period, many attendees noted, seems like the end of a cycle in the comics market, a disruptive trend projected by Milton Griepp, CEO of trade news site ICv2.com, at his annual conference at New York Comic Con two years ago.

Despite the winds of change, Powell said there are positive developments. “With a lot of good publisher [title] announcements, retailers see a solid second half of the year ahead and we actually do have people who are looking at expansion,” he told PW.
more at:  https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/comics/article/76598-comics-retailers-are-optimistic-despite-market-changes-sales-declines.html

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