While we've separately listed the top articles in each of the five categories we cover (anime, comics, games, toys, movie/TV merchandise), we wanted to note a couple of big stories that aren't specific to any one category and comment on the biggest stories over-all for retailers.
There were two major stories that affected every category we cover, and indeed every business in North America. The first was the 9/11 terrorist attack on the U.S., which produced a number of affects on the pop culture products business. One was the outpouring of creativity and philanthropic productivity in the comics business (see 'Top Comic Stories of 2001'). Another was that a number of companies altered planned releases because of 9/11-related content concerns (see 'Content Sensitivity Alters Releases'). A third was the use of the 9/11 attacks as props in various cultural and business disputes (see 'Content Sensitivity or Opportunism?').
The second major story affecting multiple categories was the economic downturn in the U.S., which was exacerbated by the terrorist attacks. We took our best shot at anticipating the results of the recession on pop culture stores (see 'Recession!'); time will tell whether we were correct or not.
We also note three big stories from our five categories that are probably the other biggest stories of 2001. In no particular order, we note the continuing growth of anime, the short-term upturn in the comics business, and the new collectible miniature game (CMG) category as the most significant events for multi-category pop culture retailers in 2001. Click below for the top stories of 2001 in each category:
Top Movie/TV Merchandise Stories of 2001
