Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Image | Tagged: comic shop, peebles
Peebles Comics in Scotland Wins Image Comics' Fall 2024 Retailer Award
Peebles Comics And Games in Scotland Wins the Image Comics’ Fall 2024 Image Select Retailer Award at Lunar Summit
Article Summary
- Peebles Comics in Scotland wins Image Comics' Fall 2024 Retailer Award for stellar customer service.
- Owners Simon and Clare Mott praise the community and thank Image Comics for the recognition.
- The award celebrates stores expanding readership and fostering inclusive, engaging environments.
- Peebles Comics to receive a commemorative medallion and a special gold foil variant as the prize.
Peebles Comics & Games in Scotland has won the Image Comics' Fall 2024 Image Select Retailer Award winner, announced last month at the Lunar Distribution retailer event during New York Comic Con. And probably had to explain that "fall" means "autumn" in Scotland.
"Customer service, for both our in-store and online customers, has always been our number one priority," said Simon Mott, co-owner of Peebles. "As such, winning an award based solely on our customer feedback and strength of community is truly humbling and affirms that we must be doing something right! Indeed, we cannot WAIT to share the news with them tomorrow and we look forward to sharing some Image goodies with them as soon as possible. To our friends at Image Comics—thank you!"
Peebles Comics & Games' owners have been comic book retailers since 2006, and opened this store as Sub A Comic Peebles in 2020 before changing their name to Peebles Comics & Games in 2022. Peebles is a town in the Scottish Borders, with a population of around 10,000.
Image Comics states that "the store raked in the highest number of nominations from customers. One customer, Jenny, raved: "The owners are fantastic. Clare [Mott] is excellent in her recommendations of graphic novels, comics and board games and tailors them to your needs/age range. She is really friendly and has an excellent knowledge and enthusiasm for her products. They frequently run community events (eg: games nights, etc.) and I see them at school fayres, etc. It is a favourite shop in our household."
The Image Select Retailer Award is an initiative from Image Comics attempting to galvanize recognition of members of the Comic Book Direct Market retail community who are going above and beyond to serve their customers, expand readership, and grow a healthier marketplace. The previous winners of the award were Hall of Justice Comics in Parker, Colorado who chose 250 copies of a Gold Foil Exclusive Variant of The Moon Is Following Us #1 and Nirvana Comics of Knoxville, who chose 250 copies of a Gold Foil Exclusive Variant of Ain't No Grave #1.
Comic shops were nominated by fans via a form submission and based on criteria such as:
- exemplary customer service
- thoughtful and exciting hand-selling recommendations
- efforts fostering a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere
- easy-to-browse shelving
- attractive and innovative displays
- forward-thinking customer marketing and out-of-box consumer outreach
- community engagement
- robust inventory of & support for Image Comics and other creator-owned/indie comics
As the winner, Peebles Comics & Games in Scotland will receive:
- a commemorative medallion to display with pride
- a spotlight Q&A to be featured on Image Comics' social media platforms and Website
- the store's choice of a gold foil exclusive variant, branded as an Image Select Retailer Award winner, with store logo (limited to 250 copies).
The Image Select Retailer Award states that it is "a way to reward and spotlight stores that have done exemplary work expanding the audience, and evangelizing the medium to new readers. Image Comics feels that there is not enough being done to point out stores that are raising the bar, changing the marketplace, and building readership, and this award is meant as a fun way to help repair that oversight."