Mahdi Abrahams of Readers Den Comic Shop in Cape Town,
This year's FCBD was record-breaking! We had an estimated 700-800 people through the doors, significantly higher than previous years, and this was clearly indicated by the higher sales volumes. The fun factor was also greater since the bigger crowd added to the vibrant atmosphere. We had the same number of extra staff as in the last two FCBDs, but this year we were clearly under-staffed. We were not really expecting such an increase in volume of traffic, and everyone literally fell over their feet serving customers, especially during the extremely busy morning period (our business hours are 9:00am-3:00pm). We are definitely adding at least four extra staff for next year.
The sale merchandise in the forecourt just outside the store once again proved incredibly popular. This year we also had much more sale product available, and people naturally took advantage of this. :)
Our lucky draw competitions are now a FCBD standard, and customers eagerly await the chance to score fantastic prizes. Since last year we have people dressed in superhero costumes, and for this FCBD we had Spider-Man, Batman, and Supergirl helping with the competitions, giveaways and photo opportunities with kids.
As for the free comics, people were happy with this year's offerings, especially the Tokyopop manga and Marvel's issue. This is also the first year that EVERY single FCBD comic was gone by the end of the day. We usually have copies left for subscription customers after the event. Luckily we reserved a small stash for mail order customers.
We have always had some media coverage of FCBD since its inception, and this year was no different. A half page article on FCBD appeared in a major regional newspaper on the day before the event, and I was interviewed on two local radio stations, one just an hour before opening time on May 6! I'm sure this resulted in the many fresh faces we saw on the day.
Once again we wish the promotional product had arrived earlier. Most of the goods arrived only in our last two shipments. We would have liked to have the posters up at least a month before the event, the same with the T-shirts. We are seriously considering cutting back on the ordering of promotional material, and to some extent producing our own.
Having said that, we would like to thank the entire industry for making the event possible in the first place. As a FCBD participant since 2002, this was by far our most successful year to date. We look forward to FCBD 2007!!!
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