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Diamond Comics' Best Practice Awards Nominations For The Summer Of 2016
Diamond Comic Distributors has announced the nominees for their Best Practice Awards Summer 2016 for comic book retailers, in the categories of Best Toys Section, Best Interior Signage, Best Window Display, Best New Comics, and Best Staff Motivational Program.
Winners will be announced at San Diego Comic Con, retailer voting ends on July 12th.
Best Toy Section
Toys Ink has been locally operated for 5 year inside the Tucson Mall, in Tucson, AZ. As a family owned business, Toys Ink started off as a collectable toy store before they decided to bring in comic books. The comic book portion of the store has slowly been growing and now that Toys Ink is the only CGC member in Tucson, it will continue to grow. However toys have and will always be the main focus of the store. We are always buying collections and searching the internet for items that costumers are requesting. The store is constantly changing to accommodate all the new product that comes into the store. On our Facebook, there are at 3-4 postings a week of new product that come along with costume made items made by our talented artist. There is always something new to look and a great way to kill time if your waiting for your car to get fixed at the Sears, which is right next door.
Comikaze and Games – Goodyear, AZ
For starters we are a humble comic shop here in Goodyear AZ. We carry a wide variety of Action Figures, Pops!, new and back issue comics books, as well as hot toys and sideshow collectible statues. We try to stay on top of our inventory to maintain what toys and comics are hot on the market and we try to ensure we have them in stock for our customers. Also if a customer would ask us a particular item that we do not have, we would make sure to order it so that when the next person that is interested in the same item we would have it available for purchase.
We choose very carefully the products we are going to sell. Then we categorize them according to: type of toy (action figure, statue, building set…), age range (kids, teens, adult collectors) and date of first arrival (newest products will get the exterior screen).
With these notions in mind, we decide which one among our different screening solutions and glass displays in our shops is the best choice for every product.
Space Cadets Collection Collection – Oak Ridge North, TX
We have roughly 2500 square feet of floor space dedicated to toys and collectibles. We order directly from Neca, Funko, Tomy, Goldiblox, and indirectly from Mattel and Hasbro. We have a buyer that travels to Japan for very unique items. We also have items from 500 consignors representing 5 states which rounds out our vintage toy collection.
Comic and Figure Addicts – Union City, CA
Comic & figure addicts carries a wide variety of toys. From new to vintage figures. We carry different brands from hasbro, Mattel, Neca, mezco, hot toys and tons others. We sell new in box figures as well as loose ones. That's why we believe that we have one of the best toy selections around.
Best Interior Signage
Lauderdale Comics – Fort Lauderdale, FL
Lauderdale Comics is a brand new store, opened earlier this month, in Downtown Fort Lauderdale, Florida. We are the area's only Comics Lounge, offering comics, toys, collectibles and Japanese snacks along with plenty of comfortable seating – plus a coffee and bubble tea bar! We are a safe space for people of all persuasions, and are fully trained to be autism-friendly. Our interior signage is a built-out bench-and-merchandise unit, with our local hero, Lauderdale Man, emblazoned on one wall, and his nemises on the opposite side. Derek Garcia, a local artist, created and hand painted the interior signage.
All Star Comics – Oklahoma City, OK
We wanted a way of helping direct customers to different areas of our store. We originally had signs for DC, Marvel, and independent comics, but the signs were very bland and didn't really have a fun feeling to them. We had a local artist make three dimensional wooden signs for the different areas using the different companies logos. DC, Marvel, Boom, Image, IDW, and more are found on the wall above their titles. This helps customers find the areas they are looking for. The kids section has it's own signage with characters from Teen Titans Go. When kids see the sign it draws them to the areas where age appropriate materials can be found.
Space Cadets Collection Collection – Oak Ridge North, TX
Space Cadets makes sure that all of our signage is printed and none is hand-written. This assures that it is legible and that easy to see. It also looks much more professional. We have isle signs marking our toy sections, signs marking our different publishers, special displays and more.
Dragons's Lair Comics and Fantasy – Austin, TX
Here at Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy® we love using our interior signage for a variety of purposes; from directing our customers to promoting products or events and celebrating our industry they provide a great way to serve customers even when we're not physically interacting with them. We make most of our interior signs in house, but also utilize banners and posters provided by our vendors. People that just want to browse and casually check out the store are provided with all the information they need to know how to successfully navigate our store, and they'll be tempted to buy great products all along the way!
Perhaps the most important aspect of our interior signage is how we utilize it to direct our customers and keep the appearance of our store updated, topical, and most importantly entertaining and fun! Every month we change our endcap signs to feature upcoming comic events such as Rebirth or Secret Wars, employee recommendations, creator spotlights, general topic suggestions such as "Teenage Team-Ups", and "Where Do I Start?" features which point new readers in the right direction for popular characters. The ideas are endless and we've found that they are a fantastic way to bring attention to old and new books alike that may fall into obscurity on the shelf.
Events are a huge part of Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy®, from book clubs to creator signings, Free Comic Book Day or Friday Night Magic we advertise our events with signs inside the store at our registers and in the bathrooms. Every event has its own table reservation sign customized for the event. The display case by our gaming tables is devoted to our focus at the current time; right now we're featuring information about our annual summer camps! It's another way we keep the store updated and fresh, and give the (correct) impression that we always have something happening. Dragon's Lair also uses interior signage of our own making to help our customers navigate the store. Whether it's informing them about comic ratings, how to find a product they're looking for, which posters are available for sale or store policies we try to keep them bright, eye catching, and entertaining! By guiding our customers with friendly and informative signs, we're providing passive customer service that really goes a long way in creating an inviting and open atmosphere in Dragon' s Lair Comics & Fantasy®.
Heroes Comics and Gaming – Louisville, KY
We worked long and hard to create an attractive and cohesive theme for our store and this is reflected in our signage. All areas of the store are clearly marked with professionally printed signage for customer convenience.
1st Edition Comics – Peachtree City, GA
We have found a large signal to direct our clients to our product while maintaining our theme and aesthetic. It is both eye-catching and functional. Additionally our logo is a warm greeting as our clients enter the store. We use it for promotional reasons and is also a great way to advertise right when clients enter the store and is easily visible from the outside.
Best Window Display
Comikaze and Games – Goodyear, AZ
We try to stay on top of our inventory to maintain what toys and comics are hot on the market and we try to ensure we have them in stock for our customers. Also if a customer would ask us a particular item that we do not have, we would make sure to order it so that when the next person that is interested in the same item we would have it available for purchase.
Dragon's Lair Comics and Fantasy – Austin, TX
Window displays are a great way to give passersby and casual shoppers a reason to enter your store! We love using our displays to drum up interest around upcoming events, celebrating new releases and exhibiting the variety of merchandise we carry.
Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy® benefits from two large window displays leading into the store that we change out monthly. This means we get not one but two opportunities every month to highlight different products! The dual nature also lends itself to fun "versus" set-ups. For example, we assembled a Batman vs. Superman display earlier this year when the movie released. The ideas are limitless, from our "Back to School" Archie display, to actual 501st Stormtrooper gear on our mannequins for Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens. Our current line-up includes Civil War II's release and our signing with Brian Michael Bendis and a celebration of DC Rebirth!
It's not just about fun (although we have a ton of it with these displays)! It's also about suggestive selling and silent customer service. Before even entering our store for the first time, customers in particular have their expectations set by these displays, and those expectations both include the atmosphere of the store and the products we have available. This ambience is particularly true and important around the holiday shopping period, and we put together a fantastic holiday display every December that showcases all the great opportunities for gift giving Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy® has available. Our displays are entertaining, informative and unique because that's the environment people find inside Dragon's Lair Comics & Fantasy®!
Space Cadets Collection Collection – Oak Ridge North, TX
We don't really do dedicated window displays, as we believe in having large unobstructed views of the interior of our store. It makes our core customer base, families, more comfortable to have an open, inviting view of the store interior.
Interstellar Comics – Palm Springs, CA
Interstellar Comic Books & Collectibles is located in Downtown Palm Springs, CA. Downtown is the heart of local businesses in Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. Interstellar is the first Comic Book store in Palm Springs in 20 years since opening on December 17th, 2015. With Palm Springs being located in the middle of the Sonoran Desert, most buildings are painted in tans and browns to match the surrounding environment of the Coachella Valley. But at Interstellar we decided against the status quo and our store had to capture the excitement of comic books as soon as any passerby sees us. The bright red frame was chosen to contrast highly with the dark blue of the interior walls, and the store's logo was color matched to reflect that as well, with not only the banner filling the center of the large window, but also our alternative rectangular logo hanging from the buildings sideway blade. Both of our alternative signs also showcase the focal point of the logo, the Interstellar Rocket Ship. The bright logo on the window is distinct and hard to miss, giving the ability to see it from a distance. The right hand side of the door displays our neon open sign. On our door, we have our hours of business and a sign that reads "Marvel Sold Here," with popular character, Iron Man, to make it clear that we are an establishment licensed to sell Marvel products. A glass cubical display was placed to show off most of our product, such as action figures, and Funko Pop figures, mugs, lunchboxes, and more which draws the attention of tourists. The glass shelf also provides a modern aesthetic to our window display, by giving the allusion of more space and allowing the product to shine. Above the window, customers can view a row of comics from different eras, showing our true essence as a comic book store. From the outside, you'll see one our three large racks of comic books, filled with our best sellers, Marvel Comics. In a single glance, customers understand what Interstellar is about before they even enter the store. In the first few months that Interstellar has been in Palm Springs, we have seen a notably large interest in comic books, and we hope to soon be a staple in the comic book community and Downtown Palm Springs.
Each holiday season we try to add many comic related touches to the store. Twisting common holiday items into super-heroes. One of the main examples is our windows. We string hundreds of tree ornaments to make famous superhero symbols such as the Batman logo, Superman logo and Spider-man. Using ornaments to make pixel-art version of famous symbols.
Since they are in the window they can be seen from the street as well as shopping in the store. Adding a holiday vibe, but still keeping with our comic roots.
Challengers Comics + Conversation – Chicago, IL
Our current window display was designed by Chris "Mini Marvels" Giarrusso, as homage to the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe covers. A group of Heroes (from all publishers) are excitedly running towards Challengers' front door to get comics! We gave Chris a list of characters we wanted (GrimJack, Zot, Power Pack, Doctor Who, etc.) and he chose the rest. With 72' of horizontal window space along our front wall, we really wanted a colorful, eye-catching display to make Challengers stand out to everyone passing by. Thanks to Chris G., we are easily visible from the street, the nearby train platform and the elevated bike trail a block away. We also have street lamps right out front, so our windows are seen all night. And best of all, Chris repeated our favorite Mini Marvels Daredevil joke. I won't say what it is, but you'll know it when you see it…
And for Sidekicks, our all-ages add-on space, we recycled previous Challengers window art from Art Baltazar, Takeshi Miyazawa, Colleen Coover and Chris G. (again). All of those pieces were also designed especially for our windows and we were happy to give them added purpose once our newer designs were put up
World's Coolest Comics and Toys – Greenville, NC
Why do we have the best window display? Because last April we installed window perf with the designs of some of today's most popular comic book characters like Wolverine, Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Harley Quinn and Deadpool. In addition, we also have 2 little easter eggs on the left window as there are two small Ant-Mans included in the window perf. Besides looking great, the window perf also protects the merchandise inside the store from sunlight and heat. The window perfs also keep the store cool even throughout the hot summer days.
So far, we have gotten tons of positive feedback from our customers, both new and old, and even from comic book artist and writers who have seen it. Jeff Parker and Sandy Jarrell, who work at DC Comics and came as special guests for FCBD, love the new window designs. Also, Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner saw the new store window designs on Facebook and Twitter and were completely excited about them. These new window designs have brought in lost of new customers who have seen them while driving down the streets.
All Star Comics – Oklahoma City, OK
We have windows that face the west and the afternoon sun and reflections from cars required covering the windows. We placed posters in the windows, but they became sun bleached and were not easily replaced in some areas. We wanted something the was appealing and could make our store easily recognizable. We met with one of our customers who is a local artist and decided to paint the windows with different comic characters. This makes the store noticeable from the street where before you could not make out the posters now it is easy to see the different displays. It also has induced a savings on air conditioning in the summer time. We change the displays twice a year and have had many compliments and requests on the windows. Parent take pictures of their children in front of the windows and we often here the kids from the out side as they see their favorite characters.
Best New Comics Section
Space Cadets Collection Collection – Oak Ridge North, TX
We lay out our new comic book section in a very specific and different way. Because we want our customers not to just pick up the brand new comics, but easily find recent back issues, our new comic book racks include all titles and issues from the last few months. We simply place the newer comics in front of the ones from the month before. Comics are organized by company and then in alphabetical order within the company. We also bag and board everything and mark the new comics for the week with a sign hanging in front of it. We also use hanging signs in front of comics to place reviews and recommendation signs. We pick several books a week to place in our 100% returnable section. If our customers don't love them, they can bring them back within 7 days and trade for a different comic.
Villainous Grounds – Perryville, MO
Villainous Grounds is a newcomer to the comics game, having opened in early 2016. We spent 3 months renovating our 130 year old building, transforming it into a coffee shop and comic book store. The 2nd story of our building houses our comics along with other merchandise. The rooms upstairs once housed a dentist office among other community businesses and we love the charm of the individual vignettes. The front rooms overlook the town square and one plays home to our new comics section as well as our children's comics corner. Vibrant and fun, we feel this room is a great way to introduce each week's offerings. One comment that we've heard from several customers is that they like our layout and how easy it is to find our new comics each week.
Perryville, MO is home to over 8,000 residents and until we opened, comic and coffee lovers alike had to drive nearly an hour to fulfill their needs. We've introduced many new patrons to comics and they are coming back for more. With all the new comic book-based movies coming out, comic book characters have become mainstream and we carry not only comic books but a lot of other merchandise to entice those new patrons.
When our customers speak we listen and we're constantly taking special orders, bringing in the comics they want. We strive to offer a variety and also bring in a lot of new #1s. On average at least 50 new comics can be found each week gracing our shelves, along with $1 comics to whet the appetite. Villainous Grounds also gets Tuesday deliveries so that when we open at 6am on Wednesdays those new comics are on the shelf and waiting to be read
1st Edition Comics – Peachtree City, GA
Our whole wall of comics is a New Release wall! We maximize our marketing opportunities and feature many new books by allowing a large number of titles to be seen. Those that are new are marked by a divider with a description. Our options include:
- New Release
- New Series
- Crossover Event
While we are a new store and still growing, we believe we have some fantastic practices in place that will continue to grow and carry us through many years to come!
Best Staff Motivational Program
Pulp 716: Coffee and Games – Lockport, NY
Employee benefits:
1) Read at least one comic or tpb per shift, while on the clock.
2) Unlimited paid sick time. If you're sick, you need not worry about losing pay. That being said, we only had a total of 4 sick hours used for our entire staff of (15 employees) in the past year. People don't call in sick when they love their job.
3) Paid time for working with children with reading disabilities: We pay our staff to sit with kids, once per month, to help them read comics 1 on 1. We call it the POWer Reader Group.
4) Cosplay everyday if you want to! Wear whatever you want! Employees get creative, customers join in the fun.
The results: Happy employees make the customer experience unforgettable. We motivate our staff to have fun. Happiness is contagious!
Space Cadets Collection Collection – Oak Ridge North, TX
Space Cadets has many ways in which we motivate our employees.
1) We allow our employees to give out merit awards to fellow employees that they nominate. These merit awards are given as gift certificates.
2) During the holidays we had a "Bingo" card with different items that employees could sell and mark off. If they filled out the entire Bingo card, they received $10. When they filled one card, they could start another with no limit.
3) As owner, Jen King, often uses what she calls "Happy Random Bonus Day". The reasons for the bonus are not random. The bonus is tailored to the employee. For example, if she sees that an employee really would love a particular comic but has no money in their budget for it, she might give it to them as a bonus for their hard work.
4) Space Cadets also allows its employees to check out comics and trades for a 24 hour period and return them (as long as they return undamaged). This allows them to read far more than they might otherwise be able to afford.
5) We also take our employees out to reward days. We took all the employees and their families to Star Wars Episode VII.
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