The Diamond-Alliance Retailer Summit, held in Chicago on the eve of C2E2 last week, drew around 400 retailers, which met Diamond’s expectations for the event, according to Diamond VP Sales and Marketing Roger Fletcher. 

When a speaker asked the attendees how many were new attendees, a high percentage of hands, variously estimated at half to two thirds of the total, went up.  “We haven’t done a Midwest show (except Alliance’s Fort Wayne events) in quite a while,” Fletcher said.

Fletcher also said that the new focus group format premiered at the Chicago Summit was well received by both retailers and publishers.