Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jun 18, 2016 20:44:25 GMT -6
www.comicsbeat.com/analysis-bankrupt-bookstore-chain-hastings-owes-diamond-1-6-million/
Well, it appears I was a bit overoptimistic when I suggested that Hastings, the bookstore chain that just announced as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, owed Diamond less than $200,000. According to ICv2 got the updated list of creditors, it’s a LOT more and Funko, the designer toy chain, is in for more than $2 million:
$2,589,509 Funko
$1,644,430 Diamond Book Distributors
$ 836,981 ACD Distribution
$ 259,683 Ultra Pro
$ 208,522 Publisher Services Inc. (PSI)
You can read the entire list of the top unsecured creditors here:
docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/54-1.pdf
Bleeding Cool has some photos showing that this weeks shipments of comics and video games haven’t been delivered. Comics are currently 50% off at stores however, and GNs are 40% off so if you live near a Hastings, a good time to stock up on some bargains.
I’ve been talking to a bunch of industry folks about the Hastings situation and the short version is: it isn’t good. While the chain is actively seeking a buyer, that isn’t by any means a sure thing, and because of the bankruptcy, creditors aren’t going to get the full amount owed even in a best case scenario.
I’m also told that Hastings didn’t buy a lot of indie comics, so larger publishers may be on the hook for most of that debt. And that the Borders bankruptcy in 2011 was a warning sign to Diamond and other distributors that diversifying outlets is a necessity. So this didn’t catch people blindsided and Diamond may have been tapping the brakes for a while before this.
However, one industry insider noted a lesson learned from the end of Borders and other store closings: when a store goes out of business, sales don’t often transfer to another retailer, instead they just evaporate. Despite the existence of Amazon, Comixology and other online retailers, a significant number of casual readers aren’t going to go out of their way to keep making purchases if it isn’t easy for them. This is the real erosion of a chain going out of business like this. Most Hastings stores were located in “tertiary” markets that don’t have a lot of resources, so a lot of readers could potentially go away and not come back.
So, some rough sledding ahead. I don’t think the potential loss of Hastings would be a body blow to the comics industry; it’s coming at a pretty bad time, but most players will muddle through. Some of the weak ones will get picked off, just as always happens, but that could still be pretty painful. I’m hearing most publishers are cutting back on launching new projects and it’s going to get harder to creator-driven projects that aren’t at Image. In a market already going through a course correction, this won’t help.
Developing.
Well, it appears I was a bit overoptimistic when I suggested that Hastings, the bookstore chain that just announced as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, owed Diamond less than $200,000. According to ICv2 got the updated list of creditors, it’s a LOT more and Funko, the designer toy chain, is in for more than $2 million:
$2,589,509 Funko
$1,644,430 Diamond Book Distributors
$ 836,981 ACD Distribution
$ 259,683 Ultra Pro
$ 208,522 Publisher Services Inc. (PSI)
You can read the entire list of the top unsecured creditors here:
docs.google.com/viewerng/viewer?url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/54-1.pdf
Bleeding Cool has some photos showing that this weeks shipments of comics and video games haven’t been delivered. Comics are currently 50% off at stores however, and GNs are 40% off so if you live near a Hastings, a good time to stock up on some bargains.
I’ve been talking to a bunch of industry folks about the Hastings situation and the short version is: it isn’t good. While the chain is actively seeking a buyer, that isn’t by any means a sure thing, and because of the bankruptcy, creditors aren’t going to get the full amount owed even in a best case scenario.
I’m also told that Hastings didn’t buy a lot of indie comics, so larger publishers may be on the hook for most of that debt. And that the Borders bankruptcy in 2011 was a warning sign to Diamond and other distributors that diversifying outlets is a necessity. So this didn’t catch people blindsided and Diamond may have been tapping the brakes for a while before this.
However, one industry insider noted a lesson learned from the end of Borders and other store closings: when a store goes out of business, sales don’t often transfer to another retailer, instead they just evaporate. Despite the existence of Amazon, Comixology and other online retailers, a significant number of casual readers aren’t going to go out of their way to keep making purchases if it isn’t easy for them. This is the real erosion of a chain going out of business like this. Most Hastings stores were located in “tertiary” markets that don’t have a lot of resources, so a lot of readers could potentially go away and not come back.
So, some rough sledding ahead. I don’t think the potential loss of Hastings would be a body blow to the comics industry; it’s coming at a pretty bad time, but most players will muddle through. Some of the weak ones will get picked off, just as always happens, but that could still be pretty painful. I’m hearing most publishers are cutting back on launching new projects and it’s going to get harder to creator-driven projects that aren’t at Image. In a market already going through a course correction, this won’t help.
Developing.