Forum - View topicWhat do you want to see in a Bricks and Mortar anime store?
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fargazer
 Posts: 29 Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee |
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I was approached by the inventory manager at my local Media Play (US, Chattanooga TN) the other day. He had noticed I shop frequently in their Anime section, and asked me for some feedback what they could do to attract more Anime customers.
Current Strengths:
Current Weaknesses:
I thought I would toss his question out here on the forum and see what you all thought. In particular (he's an inventory manager after all), what kind of anime would you want a bricks and mortar store to concentrate on? Any particular titles you think should be staples to keep in stock? I will start out with a pet peeve of mine I am going to mention to him. If a store is going to carry a new release (say 12 Kingdoms volume 10, or FMA volume 2), it would be nice to make sure you have the rest of the series decently stocked - at least the first one - so if people were intrigued by the release announcements but did not want to start in the middle, they could pick up the beginning to try out. - Fargazer |
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Sir_Brass
 Posts: 476 Location: Prescott, AZ |
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What do you mean by "Bricks and Mortar"?
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Emerje
 Posts: 7434 Location: Maine |
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It's slang for a physical store, as aposed to an online shop. Personaly, I'd appreciate more harder to get merchandise. Generally speaking, if you can get it at TRU I'd prefer not see it at Media Play/Sam Goody/Suncoast. They do alright for the most part with hats, posters, wall scrolls, and some cosplay stuff, but I'd rather they didn't have stuff like domestic Dragon Ball Z and Astro Boy figures taking up space that would be better set aside for import toys and the like. Especially when these things almost always wind up with 75% off red tags evetually. Oh, and lower prices on this stuff wouldn't be bad either, they always seem to sell well above the Diamond list price. Emerje |
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thecactusman17
Posts: 167 |
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Always have copies of volume one on hand. Even if you keep most of them in back, always have spare copies so that buyers can start on a series from the beginning right then and there.
Yes, there is a demand for anime like Dragon Ball and Yu-Gi-Oh. But most of your purchases by older customers will be for different titles. Keep some volumes of these mega-series out to advertise that you have them, and maybe a hanging list of what you have from the series, and what will become avilable soon. This gives you more shelf space to advertise the other new releases you have available. Keep your racks organized, dammit! There is nothing I hate more than loking through for anime or manga and being unable to find what I'm looking for because it's scattered all over the wall. Find a system, and make sure that the area stays that way. Ask potential employees about how much they know about anime, sci-fi, etc. Try to get peole who can specialize in the merchandise you are selling. They will do a lot better job selling the customer on a given show if they know what they are talking about. |
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Sir_Brass
Posts: 476 Location: Prescott, AZ |
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I really can't think of anything to add to this post, other than I also agree, ESPECIALLY about keeping all previous volumes stocked as well as the currently NEW ones. I'll give an example of my frustration with lack of this in most stores: I got Gundam SEED volume 1 + artbox for Christmas. As I'd already seen the rest of the series and was VERY excited about having it now on DVD, I was eager to get the rest of the currently released volumes (they were up to volume 5). So, I headed out to Best Buy, which had the best anime selection in the area (except fye, which sold anime dvd's at $33/dvd. no friggin' way was I about to ever pay that much when I could get it much cheaper elsewhere). Well, Best Buy DID have Gundam SEED DVDs. But all they had were LOTS of volume 5's, a few volume 4's, and a smattering of volume 1's and volume 1's + artboxes. No volumes 2 or 3. Frustrated I was most certainly. Even the Best Buy in Prescott (where I go to college) didn't have volume 3. they had ONE volume 2 left, and the new volumes that had just been released (volumes 6 and 7). I would've been MUCH happier if when I had went to that store that they'd had ALL the volumes stocked that were currently released. Or at least had a notice saying that the older (not-new) volumes were kept in the back room and you had to ask for assistance for someone to get them for you (they did have to have shelf space for all the new stuff, after all. which is something I totally understand). Honestly, I like to be able to go into a store and physically BUY my anime better than I like to shop online. However, what keeps me shopping online is comparable (if not lower) prices, and here's the kicker: SELECTION. Online stores ALWAYS have an entire series that they are selling up to the most currently released DVD (maybe not always in stock, but they do restock the already-released volumes). Plus, keeping the shelves organized would be great. I understand that it's people who usually mess the shelved dvds (you see the same frustration in book stores because people pull out a book and put it back in the wrong spot ALL THE TIME), but I don't think it'd hurt to have a few people who periodically throughout the day go with a list of the selections and make sure that they're organized correctly on the shelves, just like libraries generally make sure that their books are kept in proper alphabetical order, even though people screw that up constantly throughout the day. |
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darkhunter
 Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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Prices is probalby the biggest factor. When people can pick up anime at a discount price from Best Buy, the'll likely shop there again. They will likely tell others to buy thier anime from there. If the quality sold overset the lower prices, than go for it. So unless Suncoast have good prices that's attractive to younger buyers (college students are poor), than they'll likely get more customer. I do 90% of my anime/manga buying online due to cheaper prices, which gives me more titles to buy.
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fargazer
Posts: 29 Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee |
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Great feedback! Thank you everyone - it's quite helpful. A couple other questions for what you may or may not like:
**A standout display is a wire basket that sits up and above the normal displays; typically it's attached to the regular display by a short boom or rod. Typically there are roughly 2 or three standouts per 60 or so DVD spots. There's about 240 display spots (12 display areas, each area 4 DVD's wide by 5 DVD's high, each spot can hold about 5 DVDs), so there's quite a bit of display space for variety. As far as recommendations what to stock, I am going to:
Of course, any specific suggestions for titles are always welcome also. Thanks again all - Fargazer |
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Emerje
Posts: 7434 Location: Maine |
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I prefer to see it kept to itself. I just find it so much easier when everything is in it's own place. I know some stores already do this for new release, but as a permanent fixture I would say no.
As with the manga, I like to see this stuff seperated. Only thing is, I find a lot of stores don't give a lot of visibility to anime soundtracks, they rackes they use are usually so covered in merchandise that you don't even notice the CDs at first. More visibility and better organization would be nice as well, I find a lot of the CDs are in some sort of random order with nothing dividing them by show or artist like the rest of the CDs in the store are.
2 things: 1) Make sure the buyer is aware of the ages indicated on the DVD, either on the front or the back. I think more people look for the non-existant PG-13 lable more than they do the "13up" lable. Maybe a chart comparing the suggested ages found on anime to the more familiar movie or TV age ratings would be handy. 2) Perhaps a list of the top 10 anime DVDs sold each previous month or week with the suggested ages next to the titles would be good, or even break it down as the top 5 for various ages. I could see parents making good use of something like that. Emerje |
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darkhunter
Posts: 2992 Location: Los Angelas |
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If you're going to put manga somewhere, put it near the check out line. Therefore people can browse some of the manga while they're waitin in line. I do with this magazine all the times, but if they have manga, and I'm waiting in line I would check some out and possibly buy them if I like what I saw.
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Shorty22
 Posts: 504 |
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I can understand wanting to utilize standouts to cross-merchandise like that, but they can be annoying. Sometimes people will think that that's all you have, when you have a nice section located elsewhere. Or what I personally hate is when I go to the designated section looking for it and it's not there but it's elsewhere in a display in the store. As long as you can keep the 'home' filled with the item(s) that you have placed in the standouts, it'd be fine.
And I'll throw my support with having at least the first & current volumes of series readily available. Not being able to start from the beginning has stopped me from buying series before. |
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.Sy
Posts: 1266 |
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Eh, why not? I'd say having a shelf around with titles for peole who are new to the whole thing wouldn't be a bad idea. I would definitely put out a shelf for someone who has barely any idea about anime and is gift shopping. It makes things easier, being able to have a smaller selection to choose from. I'd do a few genres for gift shoppers like children, Sci-Fi, comedy, etc. (I would't put hentai in plain view though) Last edited by .Sy on Sat Apr 30, 2005 8:21 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Sir_Brass
Posts: 476 Location: Prescott, AZ |
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To add to that, maybe some print material in front to explain to anime-illiterate adults about what anime and manga is, how it differs in style from american animation and comics, about what the sub-genres are, and about what they can usually expect in an anime or manga (in terms of cohesive plot, linear plot line, etc.), and then what some good into titles are for each sub-genre in anime and manga to help the person try some stuff that they wouldn't have a hard time following or that would turn them off.
I say all this because the anime/manga-illiterate usually feel VERY lost when looking at the anime selection to choose from. They don't know what to look for, or anything. Some helpful staff would be excellent as well (sort of like how at best buy, the staff there usually asks if they can help you with anything...almost to the point of annoyance....but it's a good annoyance if you really DO need the help), in addition to a helpful print flier that's right there in the front of the store and designed to attract their attention and let them know that even the owners realize their plight. Makes a customer feel more welcome and more likely to buy something (especially if they're anime/manga-illiterate and shopping for an otaku). |
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fargazer
Posts: 29 Location: Chattanooga, Tennessee |
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Well, I put together an 8 page report for them to look at, covering a bit about what makes anime unique, as well as various sources of anime (online, fansubbing, and so on). The local staff seemed pleased with it, and I think they have a bit more understanding of what people are looking for in the anime section.
The last three pages I put in were some recommendations to stock, based on AnimeNfo, Newtype's polls, and ANN's own top 50 lists of most viewed, most popular, and best (I put in a bit on some particularly suitable to new viewers, like Cowboy Bebop and Miyazaki). A lot of the store's stocking is done centrally, but they are passing the lists up the corporate chain, so who knows what I may see there 6 months from now. I wanted to thank everyone for your feedback; it's probably been the most useful of all the places I have posted. I suppose it's to be expected; I tend to find these the best anime oriented forums I have yet found. See you all about on the boards 
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.Sy
Posts: 1266 |
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Okay, one more thing I noticed when I was at Borders trying to buy manga. Try not to have the humidity on too high, because the pages of manga sometimes wrinkle in response to high moisture. Like that one times I left a manga in the shower and it ended up slightly wrinkled... Some anime/manga fans might want the products in perfect condition, and won't buy a manga if it's wrinkled or has a defect binding, etc.
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Number Six
Posts: 84 Location: Southern California |
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I wonder if the "wrinkly" condition of the manga is more in response to the number of people who read the manga in the store rather than the humidity. Every time I go to my local Borders, there is usually about 10-15 people sitting on the floor reading manga. Sometimes its hard to navigate the aisle because of the people who are sitting and reading (many with their backs to the opposite shelf blocking the titles there). Borders may have to start shrink-wrapping if they want to protect their manga. |
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