Japanese media giant Kadokawa is planning to expand its retail presence in the US and the result could be a large chain of manga-focused bookstores across the US.
Earlier this week, they announced a new business unit, KADOKAWA Retail Ventures, LLC (KRV), which will take over running the 10 existing Manga Spot stores from parent company KADOKAWA World Entertainment, Inc. (KWE).
The expansion will be led by Kurt Hassler, currently publisher of Yen Press (also a Kadokawa subsidiary) but formerly the manga and graphic novel buyer for Borders. James Killen, who was the SF and graphic novel buyer for Barnes & Noble, will serve as Director of Retail Operations, and is also heavily involved in the plan, after having set up the first Manga Spot in New York City.
The existing stores carry a full array of manga and light novels, along with some merchandise, as seen in the accompanying photos. They carry manga from multiple publishers, and significantly, comics and IP-related goods from the United States. The stores also hold events and autograph sessions in conjunction with anime conventions.
While not mentioned in the press release, several of the existing stores are located in malls. Malls are not thriving in today’s retail environment, in some locations stores that cater to Asian consumers are holding their own.
And Kadokawa is not the only manga related entity to try their hand at US retail: Square Enix just announced a pop-up cafe in LA’s Little Tokyo, and both Kinokuniya and BookOff are expanding their US presence.
All in all, if the new ventures survive the current worldwide economic uncertainty, they could be a huge addition to comics retail landscape in the US.
According to the release, Kadokawa has established a strong presence in the US for its products, fueled by the anime boom. Having successfully opened ten Manga Spots around the US, in NYC, Chicago, Seattle, and other locations, they are looking to expand:
Based on this track record, we are convinced that building direct contact with fans through our retail business is key to further growth in the North American market. …and we intend to promote rapid business development under this new structure, leveraging our expertise.
KRV positions “Manga Spot” as a key hub in our global media mix strategy, and will accelerate the expansion of our store network in North America to maximize group synergies. At the same time, we will improve the efficiency of store operations and further strengthen collaboration with our publishing and MD (merchandising) businesses to improve the profitability of the entire group and achieve sustainable growth. We will make the most of the direct contact points with fans that physical stores offer, and deliver the diverse content created by the KADOKAWA Group to fans in North America.
Kadokawa also operates eight Phoenix Next stores selling local manga in Thailand,and other retail ventures in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. The company has announced other recent initiatives including a webtoon production studio, Studio White, an anime city production hub, and Kadokawa Creators, a move to help develop young Japanese animators for the anime industry.
More photos of the NYC Manga Spot, courtesy of Deb Aoki:
