The Wal-Mart deal. Good or bad for the industry?

[superduperman]

Do you think the new stand alone books being distributed through Wal-Mart are good or bad for the industry as a whole? I've thought for a long time we need to get books back in the hands of major retailers. But keep in mind, these aren't exactly canon. Or at least no one has officially said they are. So what that means for the industry as a whole is up for debate.

[Clark_Kent]

I say good for the industry. The average kid who doesn't normally read comics won't give one hoot whether these are canon or not, but they might get him/her interested enough to maybe find out what "canon" means someday.

Having said that, Walmart is not helping with their comic location. The 2 Walmarts near me don't even have the cardboard displays for them, the books just get tossed on a shelf and become wrinkled & bent.

[Vordan]

Average people don’t care about canon. The Dark Knight Returns isn’t canon. Red Son and All-Star aren’t canon. They’re still on the top of most recommendation lists for people just breaking into comics. This Walmart deal is good because it gets comics in the eyes of people who don’t even know comic book shops exist. Anything that grows the industry is good in my book, screw Diamond’s monopoly.

[Ascended]

It *could* be good for the industry.......but from what I've seen, they're doing it in a way that it won't really amount to anything one way or the other.

In the Wal-Mart I've been in (I don't usually go to Wal-Marts), there's a aisle between the checkouts with all the trading cards; Magic and Pokemon and all that. And the comics are on the shelf there. Nothing to draw attention to them, no nice cardboard sign. Easy to overlook. It's not in an optimal spot. These comics should be on display over in the toy section, or at least electronics (where people going to buy Infinity War on blu-ray will see the comics). But they're stuck in a small aisle that only established geeks (and only a particular subsection of geek) visit, and that's terribly limiting.

The industry isn't going to suffer from this deal no matter how badly they fumble it, but if my experience is indicative of the norm, it's not going to be successful by any metric either.

[daBronzeBomma]

Yes, it will be good ... eventually.

Short- term, there will be negligible effect. Wal-Mart won't or doesn't know how to hype this properly for at least the first year or two.

But after that, with any luck and some foresight, it will be great for the industry.

LCSs are great, but they are NOT built for newcomers at all. There is definitely a judgmental gatekeeper mentality among many of the LCS clerks I deal with. Not kid- friendly at all. Way too niche to rely on.

I want to see comic books and trade paperbacks everywhere I see books and magazines.

[Kuwagaton]

The worst part about the deal is saying that stupid name and getting strapped into hyperlink hell.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Wouldn't this thread be more appropriate for the DC Comics sub-forum?

[Kuwagaton]

Not really. Superman and Batman are the only two properties both headlining and getting exclusive content, so it's fair to reason that Superman and Batman readers have a more specific viewpoint.

One of the biggest contention points is the fate of the Tom King story. Well, and I like what Jimmy Pal put down, too. But at least if we go by BC, a lot of shop owners are unhappy about A-list stories not being accessible to them. Like a snub or a slap.

As a reader, I don't really like that this story will take a year to get out and probably have a delayed release as a collection, but I'm pretty sure it will. If it never does, I think we miss out more than the LCS. So I agree with daBronze.

They seem to be relying on passersby to pick up copies instead or really advertising. Those stands look much smaller in real life. But it used to be that way in any case. Starting comics in an LCS has never been the way, so WM is stepping up where the corner stores dropped off.

[Last Son of Krypton]

Not really. Superman and Batman are the only two properties both headlining and getting exclusive content, so it's fair to reason that Superman and Batman readers have a more specific viewpoint.

Ok, fair enough.

[superduperman]

Wouldn't this thread be more appropriate for the DC Comics sub-forum?

I only read the Superman one so this is where I put the thread. But, yes, this would be a good general question. Not sure how well the others are selling though.

It *could* be good for the industry.......but from what I've seen, they're doing it in a way that it won't really amount to anything one way or the other.

In the Wal-Mart I've been in (I don't usually go to Wal-Marts), there's a aisle between the checkouts with all the trading cards; Magic and Pokemon and all that. And the comics are on the shelf there. Nothing to draw attention to them, no nice cardboard sign. Easy to overlook. It's not in an optimal spot. These comics should be on display over in the toy section, or at least electronics (where people going to buy Infinity War on blu-ray will see the comics). But they're stuck in a small aisle that only established geeks (and only a particular subsection of geek) visit, and that's terribly limiting.

The industry isn't going to suffer from this deal no matter how badly they fumble it, but if my experience is indicative of the norm, it's not going to be successful by any metric either.

They certainly aren't handling this properly, that's for sure. It would make a lot more sense to put these with the magazines. Unless you know to look for it, you probably wouldn't run across it. And, yes, putting them where they are in proximity to other related material like movies or toys would be a good idea too. I'm not sure what the deal they made was but I have a feeling this wasn't DC's idea.

[superduperman]

Yes, it will be good ... eventually.

Short- term, there will be negligible effect. Wal-Mart won't or doesn't know how to hype this properly for at least the first year or two.

But after that, with any luck and some foresight, it will be great for the industry.

LCSs are great, but they are NOT built for newcomers at all. There is definitely a judgmental gatekeeper mentality among many of the LCS clerks I deal with. Not kid- friendly at all. Way too niche to rely on.

I want to see comic books and trade paperbacks everywhere I see books and magazines.

That's a shame. Mine is very friendly and helps people find what they are looking for and, in some cases, things that might be in their interest based on their regular reading habits. In terms of how long this will last remains to be seen. They won't last a year if there isn't some kind of promotion going on. "Oh, by the way, we put some comics with new material next to the Pokemon cards" isn't exactly a selling point.

[JasonTodd428]

They certainly aren't handling this properly, that's for sure. It would make a lot more sense to put these with the magazines. Unless you know to look for it, you probably wouldn't run across it. And, yes, putting them where they are in proximity to other related material like movies or toys would be a good idea too. I'm not sure what the deal they made was but I have a feeling this wasn't DC's idea.

Wal-Mart's management is going to put those comics in a place where THEY think they'll be noticed by the type of costumer they think will be most interested in them. Unfortunately that means the trading card game aisle because that's something that comic shops also sell. They are putting like with like in hopes of making it worth the shelf space they've allocated for them. The people they feel will be the most interested in them aren't likely to be looking in the magazine area or the toy area or even the electronics area. In all honestly it's not even very likely that they are thinking about potential new readers at all. I'm sure they are only interested in in their bottom line and whether the books will be profitable enough for them to warrant the shelf space being used.

Now if it were up to me I'd put them as close to the entrance(s) as possible so people would see them immediately upon walking in but that's another story entirely.

[Ascended]

Wal-Mart's management is going to put those comics in a place where THEY think they'll be noticed by the type of costumer they think will be most interested in them. Unfortunately that means the trading card game aisle because that's something that comic shops also sell. They are putting like with like in hopes of making it worth the shelf space they've allocated for them. The people they feel will be the most interested in them aren't likely to be looking in the magazine area or the toy area or even the electronics area. In all honestly it's not even very likely that they are thinking about potential new readers at all. I'm sure they are only interested in in their bottom line and whether the books will be profitable enough for them to warrant the shelf space being used.

Of course Wal Mart management is doing what they think will sell. But the problem large scale retailers like this have is that they're too generalized to really focus in on the best possible option for their more niche products. They are putting "like with like" but I think they're doing it to a negative degree. I think its a common marketing mistake, and all they're doing is offering the product to people who are (largely) already exposed/aware of the product. There's too much overlap here without much room for growth. There's damn little room for expanding sales the way Wal Mart is doing this, because most of the people who see these displays had decided long ago whether they were interested in comics in the first place.

By putting the comics in an aisle where only geeks go, you're limiting your potential audience to established geeks. Sure, you'll find some trading card geeks who haven't gotten into comics yet and the display might attract them, but for the most part I think what you'll find is that the geeks visiting the aisle already know comics are out there, and if they're not reading them already this move by Wal Mart isn't going to change their minds. Yes, the comics will sell when put in this aisle....but they're probably not going to sell very well.

If you put them with the toys, you're opening the product up to very young kids who haven't been exposed to comics yet. And what little kid doesn't love a book with pictures in it? They're already in the toy section, looking at related products (Power Rangers toys, Avengers toys, Justice League Action toys, etc). And by putting comics with the toys you're not only inviting impulse buying but also alternative purchases where a parent might get their kid a comic instead of an expensive action figure.

In the electronics section its much the same thing. People are already going there for the Marvel blu-rays, the anime on DvD, the video games, etc. There's a big audience of potential readers there who will come across the comics display while on the hunt for other products and could be tempted to grab a (relatively) cheap comic to accompany their movie/game/whatever purchase.

It's just a matter of getting the highest value of exposure to potential consumers possible, and the out-of-the-way TCG aisle is heavily limiting.

Of course, I'm sure Wal Mart knows their business better than I do, but I'd like to see what their reasoning here is because it doesn't seem to follow great business practices from what I've studied and learned and done. >shrug<

[ngroove]

Back in my childhood, mid-late nineties - new comics could not only be found in comic book specialty shops, comics could also be found in convenient stores, gift shops, and big places of retail, such as grocery stores and Walmart. I still remember my memories of just about every trip to Walmart, getting to picking up a Spider-Man, occassionally peering over a Hulk.

The 100 Page Formats - neat way to re-introduce heroes, villains, stories - to readers, potential new readers - at THE most accessible mega store chain name brand - at least in my regional area.