September 16, 2011
OWNER: Mike Banks
YEAR OPENED: 2002
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 6
STORE SIZE (Sq. Ft.): 3,800
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Phoenix, AZ's Samurai Comics |
Favorite Recent Comic Book: Marvel Comics/Icon's Incognito
Products Carried: Comics (New, Back Issues, Imports), Magazines (Domestic & Imports), Graphic Novels, Books (Fiction & Non-Fiction), Toys (New, Vintage, Imports), DVDs, T-Shirts, Other Apparel, Models & Statues, Trading Cards (Non-Sport), RPGs, CCGs, Miniatures games, Prints, Posters, Supplies (Comic & Non-Comic).
Special Events: We like to think of Samurai Comics as your Family Fun Center. In addition to annual events such as Free Comic Book Day, we also offer gaming events in our store every week. In addition we regularly offer autograph parties. Seminars and classes on creating your own comic books are also a part of our special event mix.
Community Involvement: We regularly partner with local schools & libraries. For Free Comic Book Day we partner with area schools to help them earn comics and graphic novels for their school library. For every student who attends FCBD, Samurai Comics puts $1 into a gift certificate that the library can use to purchase items from us.
How was your FCBD event? Awesome! Hands down our best FCBD ever.
What did you like about the Retailer Summit? Getting ideas from other retailers is always the best part about the Summits. Well, that and trying to get our Area Rep to buy us beers at the hotel bar...
What aspect of your store are you most proud of? Our diversity—Our store slogan is "So much more than just a comic book store". We really think that fits with the wide variety of merchandise that our store offers. Even if you have absolutely no interest in comic books, you can still find something you might like at Samurai Comics.
What has been your best in-store promotion? Our FCBD "earn money for your school library" promotion
What has been your best out-of-store or cross-promotion? Working with the movie studios on comic-related films. Most recently we were on site at a local theatre for a sneak preview of the Thor Movie. We gave away comics, promoted FCBD, and had a "Create your own Hammer of Thor" contest.
What recent changes have you made to your store? One year ago we moved from our 1,800 square foot store into a new Superstore of almost 4,000 Sq. f.. When designing the new store we looked at virtually every single "From the Road" report to get ideas on racks, color schemes, etc.
What are your plans for the near future? The same thing we do every night, Pinky - try to take over the world!
How did you choose your store name? Originally anime and manga were a big focus for our store, so "Samurai" was a good fit. But we also wanted something cool & memorable—People don't even use the "Comics" part of our name—When someone here in Phoenix says that they are going to hang out at Samurai, people instantly know what they are talking about. |
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