Slide from Newsstand Rarity Discussion & Estimates; discussion below.
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newsstand-model-not-working
This slide is part of my post entitled
Newsstand Rarity Discussion & Estimates where I have collected quotes and graphics related to the discussion of relative newsstand rarity over the years, compared to direct edition copies. In this slide, I am discussing a quote where David Gabriel talks about how the newsstand model was not working for Marvel Comics — not working for years:
“Gabriel said “the business in the direct market [the comics shop market] is a much stronger model and try as we might, we have not been able to make the comics newsstand model work for years, I don’t think anyone has.””
What is particularly interesting to me about this quote, is that the idea that Marvel’s newsstand distribution channel wasn’t working for them for years before they finally pulled the plug. This is especially interesting in the context of the quote from another slide about how Marvel’s newsstand sales had dwindled to 14% when Jemas arrived in 1999, and that Marvel had recognized back then that this was a distribution channel it would have to make the decision to walk away from. The title of the ComicsBeat link is also particularly interesting in the “and no one noticed” aspect, i.e. it had been months since the last new comics arrived in bookstores — reflecting just how insignificant this distribution channel had become into its last year.
