Diamond Comic Distributors has canceled its planned 2020 Retailer Summit in Orlando (see “Diamond Aligns Retailer Summit with Fan Expo HQ’s Megacon”), the company announced today.  “We do this out of an abundance of caution and with deep disappointment,” Diamond said in a statement accompanying the announcement.  "We will continue to assess the viral outbreak to plan a new conference date.  Our top priority is the health and safety of our staff, business partners, conference attendees and colleagues.”

Megacon, the consumer show with which the Summit was aligned, has not been cancelled at this point.

The Diamond Retailer Summit, scheduled for mid-April, is one of a cascade of major cancellations over the last few days, including Emerald City  Comic Con (see “Emerald City Comic Con Canceled Over Coronavirus Concerns”), originally scheduled for this weekend

Geppi Family Enterprises companies have taken a safety-first approach to the coronavirus outbreak, pulling out of Emerald City Comic Con (see “Diamond Companies Pull Out of Emerald City  Comic Con”) and GAMA Expo before this cancelation.

ICv2 columnist Rob Salkowitz opined on the coronavirus impacts on the event business yesterday (see “ECCC Postponement Shakes Fan Event Business to Its Foundations”).