Force Friday Comes to Diamond & Comic Shops
One of the most widely anticipated retailing events related to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens will take place on Friday, September 4th which Disney Licensing has deemed Force Friday. Disney, its licensing partners, and retailing chains worldwide will officially put on sale at midnight a myriad of Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys and licensed merchandise that will be sought after by new and old Star Wars collectors alike.
While many Star Wars: Force Awakens items will already be available for purchase at mass retail outlets on Friday (with many stores holding midnight release openings), Diamond at 12:01 a.m. on Friday will also have new product available for order for its accounts and will be revealing its first wave of Star Wars: The Force Awakens merchandise.
"We've been working with our suppliers to ensure that we have a great mix of Star Wars product available to comic shops," said Diamond's Director of Vendor Development, Eric Burkhardt. "Many of the items from Hasbro and Funko are currently in stock and available for immediate order on Friday, and we will continue to stock new items as they become available for shipping."
To ensure that retailers are able to place orders for these items in a timely manner, Diamond Sales Representatives will also begin taking orders at 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time that morning. Item codes for Diamond’s selection of Star Wars: The Force Awakens toys will go live for ordering, and same day shipping, at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, September 4.
Please Note: Orders will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Some items will only be available in limited quantities for same day shipping, but Diamond will be processing back-orders and shipping additional product as quantities are received.
Suspense has built steadily around the myriad toys that have been created in advance of the Episode VII in the Star Wars series, and demand is expected to be high as consumers add these items to their collections. Be sure to tune in to the Star Wars YouTube channel as they will be hosting a worldwide Star Wars: The Force Awakens product unboxing live stream. It kicks off in Sydney, Australia, at 7:45 a.m. local time on Thursday, September 3 (2:45 p.m. PT / 5:45 p.m. ET on Wednesday, September 2), with the grand finale at Lucasfilm in San Francisco (8 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. ET) on Thursday, September 3!
For its part, Diamond will try to captivate consumers by letting them know that comic shops are a great destination for Star Wars; The Force Awakens merchandise as well as classic Star Wars merchandise.
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Diamond has created a comprehensive guide to the new items – What’s @ Comic Shops – Star Wars: The Force Awakens e-Catalog – that it will promote online, through social media, and a special e-newsletter to its consumer e-newsletter subscribers starting at Midnight on Friday. Retailers are encouraged to link to the new e-catalog and promote it to their customers as well, when the catalog goes live on midnight Friday.
"Our goal is to remind comic shop customers that their comic shop has been a great source for Star Wars merchandise over the years-- and they will be again for the new film and its merchandise," said Diamond's Consumer Marketing Manager, Andy Mueller. "We'll be hitting all of the constituents from PREVIEWSworld, FreeComicBookDay and ToyChestnews to remind them about Star Wars products coming to comic shops and showcase the e-catalog for them to check out."
Diamond will also provide a host of retailing tools that can be downloaded to alert customers to the presence of these hot new toys in their stores, including shelf talkers, header cards and more!
"All in all, mass retail outlets will reap the initial benefits of new Star Wars: The Force Awakens merchandise, but comic shops won't be far behind as retailers have cultivated their shops as great destinations for all things Star Wars over the years!" concluded Mueller.
