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

Jay Cochran - March 23, 2020

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:

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

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Comments...

Last 10 comments - ( Read All Posts )

Benn - 2020-04-29 @ 10:16 pm

11 hours ago, leokearon said:
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

If books are essential in the relevant sense, I'm not sure what isn't. Virtually all non-essential items relate to entertainment.

Bluecomet - 2020-04-29 @ 8:27 pm

9 hours ago, leokearon said:
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

Being considered essential services kept thelocal comic shops here open..as long as there are a max of 6 people in the shop. This is a real welcoming surprise

leokearon - 2020-04-29 @ 10:58 am

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

Bluecomet - 2020-04-29 @ 9:42 am

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

JayC - 2020-04-28 @ 7:11 pm

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.

Bluecomet - 2020-03-27 @ 12:54 pm

Just bought my March Comic book pull list from my Local Comic shop and noticed an increase of 2 % in the prices. A bit small but significant cause I normally buy more than 10 comic books per month.

SpiderS - 2020-03-26 @ 2:26 am

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.

Bluecomet - 2020-03-25 @ 11:35 pm

This is bad...My local comic book shop already informed us the same...with the exchange rate going bad, its going to be very expensive to buy direct to shops like unknowncomicbooks.com

Atlantis - 2020-03-25 @ 8:30 pm

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.

Atlantis - 2020-03-25 @ 8:14 pm

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 thatpower, 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.

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