I don’t have time to do much more than copy the PR on this but…great news for the physical book side of the business, which continues to grow against all odds. And check out the factors that are fueling the growth.
Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the nation’s largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced that it has expanded its selection of Graphic Novels and Manga to double the size at all stores nationwide. The company said the expansion is due to strong customer demand and the growing popularity of these genres. The expanded section features eye-catching signage on bookshelves that directs customers to series and characters they’ll want to know more about, making for easier browsing and discovery.
“Barnes & Noble has seen tremendous growth in Graphic Novels and Manga in recent years, which is why we’re so excited to be able to roll out an expanded selection for our customers to explore at all stores nationwide,” said Mary Amicucci, Vice President, Adult Trade and Children’s Books. “Featuring eye-catching signage and top picks displays that highlight key series and characters, the expanded selection will not only meet the growing demand from fans, but will also drive discovery among new customers that may not have been familiar with Graphic Novels and Manga in a way that only Barnes & Noble can do.”
The newly expanded selection is perfectly timed with this year’s Get Pop-Cultured with Barnes & Noble campaign, which will celebrate Graphic Novels and Manga with events and promotions including DC Comics Days (July 8-12), Manga Mania (July 19) and Fangirl Friday (July 24). During DC Comics Days, customers can get an incredible special offer of buy two get the third free on all DC Comics Graphic Novels through Sunday, July 12. For more information on Get Pop-Cultured with Barnes & Noble, visit www.bn.com/getpop-cultured.
Keys Facts About the Expanded Graphic Novels and Manga Selection at Barnes & Noble:
- Barnes & Noble has achieved growth in Graphic Novels and Manga sales over the last 10 years, with a significant surge in customer demand over the last few years. This expansion is a direct result of this rapidly growing demand.
- All Barnes & Noble stores across the country have doubled the space dedicated to Graphic Novels and Manga.
- This doubling in space gives Barnes & Noble the opportunity to continue to meet the rapidly growing demand for Graphic Novels and Manga by:
o Increasing the selection of new releases.
o Keeping backlist books on the shelves longer.
o Driving sales through eye-catching signage that highlights series and characters for customers to discover, through improved organization of books alphabetically by series for easy browsing and discovery, and through a permanent promotional space to feature top picks in Graphic Novels and Manga, highlighting bestsellers, new releases, can’t miss characters, must-read series, and more.
Jim Killen, Buyer at Barnes & Noble, added: “As a fan, I’m excited by the dynamic changes in the genres including raised levels of artistic talent reacting to and engendering a shift in the readership and the maturing of the category and its new voices and artists and the stories they tell. As a bookseller, I’m thrilled about the opportunity to introduce new people to the medium of Graphic Novels and Manga.”
Graphic Novels and Manga are two genres that independent readers of all ages are coming to and the increased interest is driven by new readers. These new readers are discovering Graphic Novels and Manga for many reasons, including publishers recognizing the growing diversity of new audiences, the growth of new channels like digital comics and online webcomics, as well as events, comic conventions, book festivals, social media buzz and media exposure through movies, TV series and web series. Additionally, the popularity of the Fangirl movement is driving growth among females with titles like Ms. Marvel, The Walking Dead and Saga presenting heroes for this audience.
Top Graphic Novels series at Barnes & Noble include Batman (DC Comics), Deadpool and Guardians of the Galaxy(Marvel Comics), Walking Dead and Saga (Image Comics), and the characters that are currently trending at stores nationwide include Batman, Ms. Marvel (Marvel Comics), Suicide Squad (DC Comics), Deadpool and Flash (DC Comics). Bestsellers include Civil War (Marvel Comics), Batman: The Killing Joke and Watchmen (DC Comics), Walking Dead Compendium, Volume 1 (Image Comics) and Ms. Marvel Volume 1: No Normal (Marvel Comics).
Leading the way in Manga series are Attack on Titan (Kodansha), Naruto (Viz), Assassination Classroom (Viz), Fairy Tail(Kodansha) and Blue Exorcist (Viz), with new and hot-selling titles including Tokyo Ghoul, Vol. 1 (Viz), Big Hero 6 (Yen Press), Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?, Vol. 1 (Yen Press), Assassination Classroom, Vol. 1 (Viz) andSeraph of the End, Vol. 1 (Viz).
Customers should visit their local Barnes & Noble to discover and shop all of these great titles and much more in the expanded selection of Graphic Novels and Manga today.
Not to be Mr. Semantics or anything, but if I were B&N I might be a tad worried that my buyer says “Graphic Novels and Manga are two genres” instead of “the medium of comic books/sequential art.” The recent times I’ve been to a B&N the GN section has been mostly Marvel/DC plus popular manga and Walking Dead, but not much else from Image or other publishers. I think the best way to sell comics at B&N might be to rack them with the actual genres the books inhabit, but that’s just me.
I wouldn’t assume to second guess the folks making the decisions at what they stock but my guess would be that they find DC and Marvel (plus more than a smattering of Dark Horse at the BN stores I’ve visited) along with Walking Dead and quite a bit Manga to be what they sell best. You will find such indie pubs as Saga as it sells well too. Would stocking a wide spread of Image be worth them doing? Maybe, maybe not.