Jump to content

Diamond Comic Distributors Will Temporarily Stop Shipping Comics And Products To Specialty Shops Starting In April


JayC

Recommended Posts

Diamond which is the largest comic book distributor in North America has issued the following statement in regards to the Coronavirus and it's effects on their distribution to comic book and specialty stores:

 

Quote

A Message from Steve Geppi,
Chairman & CEO,
Geppi Family Enterprises
Founder, Diamond Comic Distributors


 

CORONAVIRUS EFFECTS ON DISTRIBUTION

 


As everyone knows, the world faces ever-increasing challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Its effects on the comics & collectibles and tabletop gaming industries have been felt far and wide. We are hearing from thousands of retailers that they can no longer service their customers as they have in the past, many of them forced to close by government action or resort to in-person or curbside delivery. Even those still open are seeing reduced foot traffic in most cases, a situation that seems likely to worsen with time.

Our publishing partners are also faced with numerous issues in their supply chain, working with creators, printers, and increasing uncertainty when it comes to the production and delivery of products for us to distribute. Our freight networks are feeling the strain and are already experiencing delays, while our distribution centers in New York, California, and Pennsylvania were all closed late last week. Our own home office in Maryland instituted a work from home policy, and experts say that we can expect further closures. Therefore, my only logical conclusion is to cease the distribution of new weekly product until there is greater clarity on the progress made toward stemming the spread of this disease.

 

 

 

EFFECTS ON DIAMOND COMIC DISTRIBUTORS


Product distributed by Diamond and slated for an on-sale date of April 1st or later will not be shipped to retailers until further notice. For the time being, however, we have been able to develop procedures with our teams at the distribution center in Olive Branch, MS to safely continue fulfillment of direct ship reorders for the retailers who are able to receive new product and need it to service their customers. It’s unlikely that orders will be filled on the same day they are placed, and these plans are subject to change if any point we no longer feel that we can safeguard our teams while fulfilling orders.

Product distributed by Diamond UK and slated for an on-sale date of March 25th or later will not be shipped to retailers until further notice. Further updates with regard to reorders and other Diamond UK-specific information will be communicated directly to their customers as information becomes available.

 

 

 

EFFECTS ON ALLIANCE GAME DISTRIBUTORS


Product distributed by Alliance has been shipping from our Fort Wayne, IN and Austin, TX warehouses. Both are closing at the end of the day on Tuesday, March 24th, in the interest of employee safety and to comply with direction from local governments. Any orders not shipped by that time will not be processed until further notice. Your dedicated sales team will still be working remotely and help you with any orders you’d like to place today or questions you may have.

 

 

 

OUR SHARED PATH FORWARD


With these changes in our distribution strategy, we will work with our publishing partners to develop programs that will address product already in the pipeline and what will happen when we resume distribution. We know that during this time you will face many challenges, and we will direct our energies toward addressing them, rather than fighting on increasingly numerous fronts to get product out.

For those retailers who remain open in various forms, I encourage you let loose your own creativity. For the time being, you will be able to replenish your perennials from Diamond and/or Alliance, but you should also remember the stock you already have in your stores. If your doors remain open, it’s likely you will have customers who will continue to seek diversion from events of the world. Special sales, promotions, and even eBay can help you bring in cash during this trying time. Product for which you’ve already paid may well hold some of your answers. There have been many solid suggestions offered about how to help our retailers, and we will bring many of them together in future communications.

Besides the industry’s most immediate needs, we have been and will continue looking toward the future, when we see stores reopening, bringing staff back onboard, and getting customers in the door. We are looking at issues like debt accrued due to this crisis, what reduced ordering means for your discount tiers, and the availability of credit to help stores through and after this difficult time. We don’t have all those answers today, but we understand the many issues you are facing and look forward to addressing them as partners who all have an interest in the long-term health of the industry we love so much.

As I mentioned in my last update, this industry has been one of the greatest joys of my life, from my days as a collector to a retailer to today. I and my Leadership Team have made these decisions knowing full-well the effect this will have on all of you, as well as our publishing partners and our own team members around the world. At the end of the day, the safety and security of our teams and yours, along with the many customers we all serve, is paramount. I again thank you for your ongoing patience and support.

Thank You,

Steve Geppi
Chairman & CEO, Geppi Family Enterprises

 

 

Diamond.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

9 hours ago, Satam said:

Just set up mail order for the books on my pull list at my LCS this morning, since they've closed their doors because of the virus.  I have a feeling they're going under real soon now.

Well, you're apparently more concerned about that than Diamond. Sadly, now that the government is broaching the possibility of offering bail-out money to injured businesses, you're probably gonna see a lot more companies like Diamond kicking employees and dependent retailers to the curb for a shot at Uncle Don's wallet.

Kinda makes you proud to be an American doesn't it?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On the flip side, this would be a really good time for marvel and dc to push their digital comic subscription services. Especially since a lot of libraries are closed and amazon will be putting book shipments on the back burner.

this does feel like it may be the end of printed floppies (and consequently, the end of the comic store as we know it) whether the industry can survive without them, I don’t know. But of course we have much bigger concerns anyhow 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If this goes on for months then I would say most small comic book shops, many of which were barley hanging on by a thread before this will likely go under. Comic publishers like Marvel and DC which are owned by large corporations and have the ability to sell directly to the consumer with digital downloads I imagine will be able to weather the storm. A distributor like Diamond I don't know. That might be large enough and can get aide enough to survive the initial storm but if all the comic shops they shipped their products to go under they may not be far behind.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I split my pull list now between my LCS and DCBS.  I know Diamond is the only distributor so they won't be going under but a ton of local comic shops will be.  What I'm going to be doing is buying credit/gift cards from my local comic shop every week or every other week until they are open again. Hopefully more people will do the same. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah man this is the official moment I am on the bummed out train about this whole beervirus, I am going to do what I can to try and support my comic shop, I mean I've been going to the same shop for well over a decade,, probably like 15 years, if they have to close permanently because of all this it's going to be a real sad day

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, mako said:

Well, you're apparently more concerned about that than Diamond. Sadly, now that the government is broaching the possibility of offering bail-out money to injured businesses, you're probably gonna see a lot more companies like Diamond kicking employees and dependent retailers to the curb for a shot at Uncle Don's wallet.

Kinda makes you proud to be an American doesn't it?

The statement from the CEO was sure nice, right?  "Sell what you already have and be creative."  Swell dude.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, mako said:

I know, right? He LITERALLY just told them "You're on your own dudes, deal with it!"

Kind of a stark contrast from Hasbro's announcement. 

 

12 hours ago, Satam said:

The statement from the CEO was sure nice, right?  "Sell what you already have and be creative."  Swell dude.

Yeah, I wonder if comic shops will be creative and find a different distributor 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, leokearon said:

Wow, that's a really bad business model to have, especially as they aren't even that good.

Reminds me of the dark ages before satellite TV. You would have ONE cable company solely covering a given area. End result? These companies could basically charge anything they wanted, and customer service was a joke. It also gave them a power base that took years to break.

Sound familiar?

Take a good look boys and girls, this is why monopolies are SUPPOSED to be illegal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, mako said:

Reminds me of the dark ages before satellite TV. You would have ONE cable company solely covering a given area. End result? These companies could basically charge anything they wanted, and customer service was a joke. It also gave them a power base that took years to break.

Sound familiar?

Take a good look boys and girls, this is why monopolies are SUPPOSED to be illegal.

Yeah, I am surprised there is only one distributor 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Blind stupidity, borne of desperation and foolishness. Hopefully there will be a silver lining where this is looked at, and this monopoly is broken up. Free market is a good thing, but if a company/ person has no competition and no one to answer to when they get all that power, they also will have the power to control that free market. Kiss  freedom goodbye, 'cause we're left with just orders from the power brokers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On ‎3‎/‎24‎/‎2020 at 11:11 AM, Satam said:

The statement from the CEO was sure nice, right?  "Sell what you already have and be creative."  Swell dude.

Yeah, see, he gets away with that sh1#%t+ because he has the monopoly! This is what happens when you have no competition and too much power.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's terrible, at the same time whole world economy is tumbling down, so I guess it would seem that comic book industry is insignificant on global scale but it's meaningful for the fans like us,  industry was already struggling, this will hit hard, some won't make it but we can hope that industry will have better future post covid-19. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

We've gotten word that Diamond Distributors is notifying retailers that they are looking to start shipping out new comic books again, starting on May 20. Back on March 23, Diamond announced they were temporarily ceasing the shipping of comics And products to specialty shops due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diamond Comics has been the sole distributor for new Marvel comic books to specialty shops since the mid 90's. It's been a month now since new titles from Marvel have been released.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Bluecomet said:

To the rescue...books are considered 'essential' services ... good news

To be honest,  books should have been considered essential given they would help dealing with boredom.  Not being biased at all just because I am an author

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...







Sign Up For The TNI Newsletter And Have The News Delivered To You!


Entertainment News International (ENI) is the #1 popular culture network for adult fans all around the world.
Get the scoop on all the popular comics, games, movies, toys, and more every day!

Contact and Support

Advertising | Submit News | Contact ENI | Privacy Policy

©Entertainment News International - All images, trademarks, logos, video, brands and images used on this website are registered trademarks of their respective companies and owners. All Rights Reserved. Data has been shared for news reporting purposes only. All content sourced by fans, online websites, and or other fan community sources. Entertainment News International is not responsible for reporting errors, inaccuracies, omissions, and or other liablities related to news shared here. We do our best to keep tabs on infringements. If some of your content was shared by accident. Contact us about any infringements right away - CLICK HERE