|
I attended the Marvel Conference Call on Wednesday April 25th. In
this conference, Marvel announced some distribution news to the press and
took questions. Here is the news with some transcribed highlights! It will give
you a feel of what it's like to attend one of these things.
Before the conference 'officially started' Bill Jemas and Maggie
Thompson from Comic Buyers Guide were talking about the success of
Harry Potter books vs. Comic Collectibles Marketing. Here is
Transcript highlight #1:
Bill Jemas:
There is a point, there is so much stuff that you do when
you sell cards and comic books, that disinformation is
too strong a word, but there is so much stuff that you do.. that
you.. that it's just never part of the marketing overall discussion.
You know collectability is marketing, it's when you really get down to
what marketing is it's creating awareness and creating demand. Okay so,
the awareness becomes when kids walk around school saying, 'Did you hear
Spider-Man is 20 dollars?' And the demand is this.. this.. this.. need,
that I need to get in on this... pitch. So this is exactly what
marketing is, you know marketing 101 and the cost of this marketing is
that you print less. So your collectables gain is you print less and sell
more. It's, it's, it's specul.. But you know you never walk around and
SAY that. What's your ad going to be? We were making less of this so we
can sell more (laughter). But it never gets into the mind of the people
that work in this business day to day, except for people like me, who
everybody just... there a pro that thinks that way?
Maggie Thompson:
But Bill, but Bill, that's not the way, for example, that Harry
Potter got on a roll is it? I mean, people, the kids walked around
were collecting it because it's Kewl, not cause they couldn't
get it, but you get it cause it was just Kewl, maybe that lack of
supply is an element to one approach to cool, but is it the only
approach to cool?
Bill:
I absolutely don't say collectables that was only
marketing, but right Maggie?
Maggie:
Right, Right, Absolutely.
Bill:
What I said was, Collectable Marketing is the one that you can do if youre
Marvel and you don't have any doubt. But it's the kind of marketing that
costs less than not marketing. Defeatist kind of marketing. And I'll
tell you something else, a lot of what made Harry Potter great besides
from copying the X-men. A lot of what made Harry Potter, Potter you know,
a great cultural phenomena was that anticipation. That it was, is what
that, that got all the news, is, is there is two parts to this, it's not
just creating the need with Harry Potter. The need was created by great
content. One of the things that created the awareness level was that
anticipation of the book is coming NOW and guess what? It's available in
England and my friends going online and getting it through, you know,
England.com. Here we are, you know, lets camp out at the bookstores. That
awareness level that came from it, it's not at the stores.
Maggie:
Bill Jemas:
So again, it's not the only way to market, but you be Marvel for a
minute. I show you our balance sheet, then you figure out how,
how to market product in a way that will get people to come to the stores.
But anyway, we don't, I'd never talk about that stuff in that,
in that's nothing you'd never talk about in terms of overt marketing. In
my mind, it's part of being .. uh marketer in the entertainment
business.
So what do we do...put that in my memoirs? My life as a dog.
Maggie:
Bill:
News:
Marvel is continuing their relationship with Diamond. Their contract
with Diamond was to run out this summer. Marvel got two offers to
distribute their comics to the direct market. The first from a
bookstore distributor and they didn't get it. The second from a
newsstand distributor who didn't get it.
Chuck Parker from Diamond helped convince Bill Jemas that having one
distributor is good for the comic shops. Joe Quesada and Steve Geppi
pushed Marvel into becoming a serious player into the trade paper back
business.
Marvel writers will be writing in 4-6 issue story arcs so they will be
easily TPB'd.
In addition, Marvel has dropped LPC as their bookstore distributor and
Diamond is taking over. This is something new for Diamond as they have
limited themselves to the direct market in the past. Diamond will do what
it takes to expand and be capable of handling bookstore returns as Marvel
sets the terms.
Marvel will be overprinting TPB's so they can lower the price. A
Punisher and Ultimate Spider-Man book are on the way, Ultimate
Spider-Man will be $14.95 US.
Diamond is going to keep track of print runs and let Marvel know when they
are getting low on a title so they can print more and stay in print.
Diamond will be producing catalogues during the year for the
bookstores to order the TPB's. These will heavily advertise Marvel
TPBs.
Bill Jemas believes Diamond has really good service and it will really
contribute to sales.
Quesada says the first thing to do with the Masterworks is put them
back into print. People at Marvel work in their spare time, above and
beyond the call of duty to make the Masterworks and make them at the high
quality level. As a result, they can maybe get out two or three new ones a
year, they are looking at putting the older ones back in print.
In regards to the quality of the Essentials, Quesada says nobody wants to
shoot pages from old comics. But Marvel hadn't always taken the best care
of the old film which is why they have to do it that way.
Marvel wants to be front and center with TPB's in the bookstores
during the Spider-Man movie and the X-Men Sequel. They may be able to put up
special displays for the TPB's at that time.
Transcript highlight #2:
Rick Veitch:
I guess from the statement uh.. Bill, it sounds like the direct
sales kinda dodged a bullet if you guys were actually
considering pulling out of Diamond and the Direct Sales Market again. I
guess my question addresses that. Both Chuck and Bill, is there any
future in the direct sales market?
Bill Jemas:
I'd say dodged a bullet is way too strong. I mean, nice try Rick, but
that's way too strong.
<muffled laughter>
I don't think, I wouldn't deserve to have my job if we didn't keep an eye
on competitive pricing from anything from printing to distribution. Dodged
a bullet is way over, so over the top, it sounds like I
would have said it.
<muffled laughter>
I'm not going to complain but no, we're solid with
Diamond. With Diamond we do believe in the company. And the future of the
Direct Market, uh, I mean, uh, you guys and Diamond have more information
than we do. We're having a blast in the direct market. We have
quality books that are selling great, so I, we're not seeing
any hitch. Chuck that's more for you to answer than me on industry wide.
Chuck Parker:
Getting back to what Bill just said, Marvel sales have been up, up
pretty strongly over the last number of months consecutively and
compared to the previous year. So Marvel is doing very well in the Direct
Market. Overall the market is diversifying and I think we all know
that. I mean... comics... aren't selling.. The way Marvel Comics are
selling, the way we want them to sell, comics alone
still represent 50% of our business. That does not include the trades and
graphic novels which are growing in the direct market and have been growing
in the last, what's it 3 or 4 consecutive years. I'm
looking at Roger shaking his head yes. Um, our sales have been stable for
the last number of years. There's been some change in the product
mixes. The action figures are doing well in the direct market and they
support other things that sell as they used to sell. But as one
category seems to go up, another category goes down , so it kinda balances
itself out. But I think the Market itself is pretty stable and that's
been our experience in servicing in the last number of years. There is
some account attrition, but it's not in the number that were
happening many years ago. And people are paying their bills, but I'd be
the first to say though, that the financial
infrastructure of the direct market is fragile and will always be fragile
I've been in the market for over 16 years, it's always been that way.
So you know, it's not that the market doesn't have any
concerns, but on the other hand, I don't think it's in
an unhealthy state. either. I think things are, selling Marvel
is a perfect example, of a company that's producing good product and
getting, and reaping the rewards of that because their sales again are up
and they've been getting up higher than the month before. So...
Rick Veitch:
Chuck Parker:
Rick Veitch:
You know Bill, in your opening statement you said a bookstore and a
newsstand distribution had both made a pitch at Diamond business and
didn't get it. So, do I understand correctly to mean that you guys were
contemplating pulling out of the direct sales market?
Bill Jemas:
Oh no, no, no. What I'm saying is we have, in the past, Marvel had three
main domestic distributors. One for bookstore, one for
newsstand and one for comic. We took a look at a
substitute, uh, bookstore distributor and they made a pitch at the direct
market and we took a look at a newsstand distributor and they made a pitch
at the direct market. And both of those pitches were rejected and
we're back with Diamond on direct market. And frankly. the discussions
with Steve and Chuck on the direct market led us immediately to
what some of the issues are in Marvels relative lack of success in
bookstores. They both came on with Chuck and Steve,
that if they applied the service level to the bookstore market that
they historically provided to the comics market, that
Marvel continues to lead and sell , we could have the very same
operations out of the bookstore market. Again, what were looking to have
happen is, bookstores to create a Marvel section amongst the trade
paper backs. Obviously, what will happen at that point,
there will probably be a DC section and an Image section. To maintain a
section, you really need service when the stores planograms start running
low theyre going to want immediate reliable, replenishment. And Diamond
is in a position in a way that other distributors might not have
been. So what really happened is that the openings in those
other two markets really created an opportunity for Diamond
to head into one of them.
All right... is that a little more clear?
Rick Veitch:
More News:
Marvel wants to release 12 new TPB's a month and keep their backlist
in print on the good selling items.
Some books will immediately go into TPB, but which ones they aren't
identifying yet.
A Robert Weinberg project will probably be the first creator owned,
adult line book from Marvel. It should be out in October.
Marvel plans on expanding to a number of different genres, crime-noir,
science fiction, western, and they are talking to a number of European
artists about publishing their work in the states. This would be stuff
that hasn't been seen in the states as of yet.
Bill Jemas says Marvel is the Sultans of Spandex.
The Distribution deal is exclusive for both comics and TPB's and
the foreign material brought in.
Transcript highlight #3:
Jamie Coville:
Uh, I was wondering if traditional comic book stores would be able to
order trade paper backs, Marvel trade paper backs on a returnable
basis?
Bill Jemas:
That's much more of a Marvel Question than a Diamond question. We
don't have current plans to do that.
Jamie Coviile:
Uh.. well, someone at Marvel answer this?
Bill Jemas:
That's me, Bill Jemas. We don't have plans to do that.
Jamie Coville:
Okay then. Can I ask why not?
Bill Jemas:
<inhale> Why not.. We're comfortable with the business practices
the way they are, we think they work reasonably well
for Marvel . We, you know, have enough difficulty as we can with
classes of trade that will not do anything but returnability, and,
as I eluded to before, even though on paper bookstore books are
returnable, they exercise self help in that market and ship so few books
that the returns are minimal. So what youre asking is.. what is the
philosophy behind the business practice and then I'm trying to discern how
far we go with this one. But I will . . . I won't give any sort of confidential
information other than to say that we believe this policy is right for
both classes of trade.
More News:
All toys that Diamond ships to mass market stores have the 1-800 comic
shop locater number and they hope that will carry some business back to
the comic shop.
Quesada thinks there are three types of comic readers. Those that like
TPB's, those that like comics and those that like both. He likes both. He
thinks there is something about that monthly fix that's very hard to get
rid of.
Bill Jemas says the best selling trades are also the best selling
monthly comics. So he's not afraid of the improved TPB selection
taking away sales from the monthly issues. Good content sells in
multiple formats.
Marvel is still about 3 months away from declaring victory over the
success of the Ultimate Marvel Magazine because of the nature of the
newsstand market.
Quesada never thought in a million years that something he wrote would be
TPB'd. He turned into a fanboy when he heard his Iron Man run is going to
be one. Quesada's boss told him there was nothing in the budget for him to
draw a new cover, so they are using an older cover. Quesada comically said
'damn' and whimpered.
|
