I’m just finishing up the monthly Previews order for the store, and noticed something a little peculiar. We ordered just-about as many volumes of Fruits Basket this month as we did every other manga they publish, combined. For those of you not in the know, they publish around 40 titles a month (41 in the April Previews).
Why is this a reason for worry?
APR084108 FRUITS BASKET GN VOL 20 (OF 22)
I hope they’ve got something awe-inspiring up their sleeves debuting in the next 8 months. Like, “Final Fantasy 7: The Manga” level awesome.
– Christopher
Does TP need a “superstar” title like FB to survive? I’m not saying there aren’t problems with TB’s current manga releases but I feel like they have a selection of steady sellers….(I was going to say “good selection” but I might not even be able to go that far…”)
Let’s see…(and these are educated guesses….not based on facts):
Welcome to the NHK
Loveless
Boy’s Love stuff from BLU
Saiyuki Reload
Gakuen Alice
Petshop of Horrors: Tokyo
There must be other titles that self half decently? Do we really think TP will collapse without Fruits basket? (I’m asking seriously, not sarcastically, since this appears to be conventional wisdom around the blog-o-sphere.)
Well, some good news — Fruits Basket is actually 23 volumes not 22 so…the company as a little more time to get its act together? But, yes, I agree, a company like that can’t survive on one property….
Hey Danielle, I don’t think Tokyopop is going to collapse without Fruits Basket, and I don’t think our experience (1:1 ratio of FB to rest of the monthly offerings) translates across the entire industry, either. FB is only published every 4 months, anyway. But it’s the same fears that greeted Vertigo when Sandman ended: There’s no Flagship book anymore, nothing leading the way. That book, for Vertigo, eventually became a sort of Y: The Last Man / Fables combo, but with Y over now those are big shoes to fill.
It leads to the conversation of whether you need a Flagship book to ‘define’ a line and a brand, and I could go either way on that, but I do think that only Gakuen Alice (of the titles you listed) has the potential to really break out of the pack and become a top-tier book, and it certainly hasn’t done so, so far.
At least they’ve still got the Kingdom Hearts license, which is a mega-seller for us (and many).
– Chris
I can’t think of a TOKYOPOP book I’ve bought a lot of recently aside from DRAGONHEAD, and I can’t really think of anything else they have that appeals to the “20-something comic/manga nerd” demographic I represent, outside of WELCOME TO THE NHK… but I don’t think that’s really the market they’re going for, so it shouldn’t be a problem. Thinking about it though… yeah, TOKYOPOP don’t really have themselves a NARUTO aside from FRUITS BASKET.
Some thoughts:
1) How many copies of Volume 1 do you sell a month? Will Fruit Baskets become a backlist title, like Sandman, or will it get pushed aside as new titles get published?
2) “Celebrate” the upcoming end of FB by creating a display of other titles which may appeal to the FB fan. This will generate sales during those months when there is not a new FB volume, and also “guide” these readers to other series.
(Barnes & Noble did this with their “While You’re Waiting for Harry Potter” displays of other fantasy titles.)
3) Dunno how robust your POS system is… see what the customers who buy FB also buy. Check the subscription files (if you have them). Or just ask the customer at check out what else they enjoy. (I’m sure your staff also recommends titles at check out. I used to do that all the time at B&N, because it also makes the shopping experience better.)
3.5) If you have the space, you could also schedule an FB reading group a few weeks after the title is released. Afterwards, during refreshments (cookies and fruit punch), listen to what everyone is talking about. You can also duplicate this for other series as well. (At B&N, we offer a 20% discount on the monthly reading group selection. Not a big chunk of change, as there are only about ten or so people who show up.)
4) What’s the number two title for Tokyopop?