Comments on: The week in PW Comics Week http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/11/26/the-week-in-pw-comics-week/ The News Blog of Comics Culture Sun, 8 Nov 2009 11:31:08 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.2 by: Jimmie Robinson http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/11/26/the-week-in-pw-comics-week/#comment-2654991 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 04:33:34 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/11/26/the-week-in-pw-comics-week/#comment-2654991 After reading Todd Allen's article I feel like quitting. I'll never make it to such lofty heights. My pipe dream to nowhere has sprung yet another leak. After reading Todd Allen’s article I feel like quitting. I’ll never make it to such lofty heights. My pipe dream to nowhere has sprung yet another leak.

]]> by: Torsten Adair http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/11/26/the-week-in-pw-comics-week/#comment-2653343 Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:48:34 +0000 http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/11/26/the-week-in-pw-comics-week/#comment-2653343 “B&N and Borders are putting pressure on mid-sized publishers. They are cutting back across the board, stocking less and returning more and considering the economy I can’t really say that that’s wrong.” "We are managing our working capital efficiently, which is evident in the reduction of $107 million of inventory compared to last year." Steve Riggio, Barnes & Noble CEO http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press_releases/2008_november_20_third_quarter_earnings.html How much of that $107 million is manga and graphic novels? If the cuts are the same across the board, then one could use the percentage for each category. However, some categories are selling worse than others, like compact discs. I would guess-timate maybe $200,000 worth of returns, max. Another factor is more conservative ordering of new titles. Yet another factor is that each department has a budget, and if one title sells well, then other titles might suffer. The good news? Children's books are a bit more recession-proof, and B&N does merchandise some titles in that category. (Bone, Amelia Rules, Wimpy Kid, Avatar) Stores can also order extra stock of titles they think will sell. (My old store skids gift books like crazy... and there are a lot of nice GN coffee table books this season.) (I am an employee of B&N, but should not be quoted as a reliable source. The above analysis is based on empirical evidence, with no access to any current sales data.) “B&N and Borders are putting pressure on mid-sized publishers. They are cutting back across the board, stocking less and returning more and considering the economy I can’t really say that that’s wrong.”

“We are managing our working capital efficiently, which is evident in the reduction of $107 million of inventory compared to last year.” Steve Riggio, Barnes & Noble CEO
http://www.barnesandnobleinc.com/press_releases/2008_november_20_third_quarter_earnings.html

How much of that $107 million is manga and graphic novels? If the cuts are the same across the board, then one could use the percentage for each category. However, some categories are selling worse than others, like compact discs. I would guess-timate maybe $200,000 worth of returns, max. Another factor is more conservative ordering of new titles. Yet another factor is that each department has a budget, and if one title sells well, then other titles might suffer. The good news? Children’s books are a bit more recession-proof, and B&N does merchandise some titles in that category. (Bone, Amelia Rules, Wimpy Kid, Avatar) Stores can also order extra stock of titles they think will sell. (My old store skids gift books like crazy… and there are a lot of nice GN coffee table books this season.)

(I am an employee of B&N, but should not be quoted as a reliable source. The above analysis is based on empirical evidence, with no access to any current sales data.)

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