Latest Beano Circulation Figures

[BeanoKev70]

Latest Circulation figures are out, From what I can see The Beano has had a large increase in readership during 2012 Previous figure was around 28,000 I think?

Beano - 36,081
BeanoMax - 23,670

[Digifiend]

http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/just-137- ... all-titles

Other comics:
Doctor Who Adventures, 31935, down 34.1%
Doctor Who Magazine, 28743, down 6.1%
The Phoenix, 14013, down 11.7% (still impressive, considering it's only available at Waitrose or online, it's still selling double what Dandy did)
Simpsons Comics, 50774, down 20.8%
Simpsons Comics Presents, 27585, down 32.9%
Viz, 57155, down 11.0%

And finally, some good news for DC Thomson:
WWE Kids, 30644, UP 21.3%!

EDIT: That's NOT an increase at all for the Beano. Figures from 12 months ago:
The Beano, 38333
BeanoMAX, 22094
WWE Kids, 25269
The Dandy, 7489
The Phoenix, 15878
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/48769

Figures for six months ago:
http://www.pressgazette.co.uk/node/49860
Beano, BeanoMAX, WWE Kids, Phoenix and Dandy are all missing from the list.

[BeanoKev70]

Both Dr Who Titles have actually seen a rise over the six months from June 12

Jan-Jun 2012 Jul-Dec 2012
27,089 (-11.5%) 28,743 (+6.1%)
31,903 (-34.2%) 31,935 (+0.1%)

[Digifiend]

Forget the percentages then, they're wrong. It shouldn't even say the percentage for Beano and BeanoMAX because they failed to report their figures six months ago.

[Lew Stringer]

Sales on most publications are down unfortunately. A combination of a number of factors, but putting comics out of the reach of children doesn't help. For example:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_448y6kVhntg/S ... elving.jpg



Edit: Can't seem to post the image, so please click on the link. It's a photo I took in my local WH Smith a few years ago. The situation is still the same today.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

I can confirm that many comics displays in my area are terrible-----I actually had to stoop down and delve into a lower shelf [OK if you are at tiny-tot level, I suppose].......

[Lew Stringer]

I can confirm that many comics displays in my area are terrible-----I actually had to stoop down and delve into a lower shelf [OK if you are at tiny-tot level, I suppose].......

But even lower displays have their drawbacks for the kids. See this photo I took in Asda a few years ago:

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_448y6kVhntg/S ... comics.jpg

Only the most dedicated comic fan would bother rummaging through that mess to try and find a particular comic. Casual readers wouldn't bother. (In fact on that particular day even I gave up looking for the title I wanted.)

I really think poor displays are a major factor in falling sales. It's preventing new readers from discovering comics so, as existing readers drift away (as they naturally do as they get older), sales are doomed to continue falling.

[AndyB]

Of course, if everyone abandoned cover mounts (which they would all have to do at once) there wouldn't be half the problems with them falling over!

[Digifiend]

Yeah, shame that's not likely any time soon.

[ISPYSHHHGUY]

My earliest memories of seeing comics on display in the mid-60s was very different: most comics were seen in old-style corner newsagents, which in retrospect, seem like another world away nearly 50 years on.

The comics then were either stacked on a very low wooden stand, so even kids looked down onto them [you couldn't miss them, unlike so often today]: either that, or they were stacked standing up on wall shelving [I think they were just tilted inwards slightly, to stop them succumbing to gravity]----this way, you sometimes saw the whole cover, whether it was the BEANO, or a BATMAN import. Glass jars of sweets-----and sweets and chocolate that were often sold 'loose', unthinkable today------surrounded these journals in many shops. It was much, much more attractive and inviting compared to the Corporate Blandness we are saddled with today...... it's just too sterile and homogenous .

Other shops opted for a vast tabletop counter, where everything was laid out clearly, the titles of everything clearly visible......old-fashioned, maybe, but this approach lasted well into the 80s. There was much more British character in the newsagents then: another facet of life that has sadly slowly evaporated for a number of reasons.

[felneymike]

There's a newsagent in Ely that still has all the newspapers on the counter. If you ask me it looks like an awkward mess, a coin dropped in that lot will instantly vanish and fingers will get very blackened retrieving it. Mind you, to people who grew up with that sort of display, the bowler-hatted man standing in the street with armfuls of papers probably looks awkward. But he served the Victorians well enough!
I don't know how this particular newsagent keeps going, it's probably the location, right at one end of the 'main shopping street' (as far as Ely has such a thing) and in a rough 'triangle' of banks. Oh and near the main tourist attraction!

Oh and also there was a recent craze for 'retro sweet shops', which sold 'quarters' of loose sweets in paper bags from big jars. They may have gone the way of the milkshake parlour by now, though.
There was an online one that promised to also have "retro comics" "just like Whizzer and Chips!". Though they were more "just like the newspapers!". Flat, photoshop-coloured four panel gag strips.

[Lew Stringer]

Of course, if everyone abandoned cover mounts (which they would all have to do at once) there wouldn't be half the problems with them falling over!

Beano has managed it though, as did The Dandy for its last two years (except for Christmas issues). Contrary to what we'd previously been led to believe it seems it is possible for retail chain stores to accept comics that aren't bagged with bulky cheapo toys.

A return to more classic, and importantly, flat free gifts, like The Beano has been presenting this year is the ideal situation for tidy shelves. I'm sure a reader would prefer a gift that lasts (eg: a poster, extra pages, or stickers) rather than a toy that breaks after a few days. Unfortunately a bulky bag of toys looks better value than it is.

That said, even bagless comics are no guarantee of better sales if the comic is up on a six foot high shelf or buried at the back of some dark display that's too small to accommodate all the comics the staff have shoved in there.

Local corner shops have better presentation... when distributors send them the comics they've asked for that is.

[Digifiend]

Oh and also there was a recent craze for 'retro sweet shops', which sold 'quarters' of loose sweets in paper bags from big jars. They may have gone the way of the milkshake parlour by now, though.

We have one in Hull city centre, called Treat Box. And online, there's A Quarter Of.

[Phoenix]

Oh and also there was a recent craze for 'retro sweet shops', which sold 'quarters' of loose sweets in paper bags from big jars. They may have gone the way of the milkshake parlour by now, though.

Far from it. The ones I see most regularly are always busy. I'm thinking principally of Lincoln, Falmouth and Truro, but I've come across quite a number of others. Nostalgia in action.

[AndyB]

I was shocked when preparing for my wedding how many nursery titles are on the go. I chose seven different ones for the kids' goody bags - none from DCT, of course, since Chuggington folded.

Thankfully, shops selling quarters of sweets have never gone away!