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Mile High Comics Closes Its Glendale Store After 28 Years

Published Thu, 03 Jan 2019 12:00:36 -0600

Mile High Comics is one of the biggest comic stores in the USA, with a massive online warehouse that dwarfs everyone else. But as of 2019, it will have one fewer stores – one with quite a history. At the end of December, between Christmas and New Year, their Glendale, Colorado store was cleared out, stock redistributed to their other stores. Owner Chuck Rozanski explained on his site,

When we first opened our store we had inexpensive rent, abundant parking, a really nice landlord, and the huge Celebrity Sports Centerright across the parking lot. All of that changed, beginning with the demolition of that wonderful amusement complex filled with swimming pools, waterslides, and bowling alleys (originally built by a partnership of Walt Disney, Jack Benny, Bing Crosby, and a dozen other Hollywood investors), in 1994. Parking is now nonexistent, we have a new landlord, and our rent has gone up 350%! Sadly, it is time to go.

In a flier he wrote

It is with a heavy heart that I must pass on to you the news that we are closing our Glendale location permanently on December 31st. Our decision was based upon many factors, including rising operating costs, intolerable parking shortages, and the lack of air-conditioning" as well as the departure of store manager Aaron Tucker, who Chuck calls "the heart and soul of this wonderful operation for nearly twenty years. We simply cannot conceive on continuing to operate this location without his boundless energy and enthusiasm.

As Chuck moved stock in his truck to the Jason Street Mile High Comics Megastore, he posted,

We had a truly awesome dedicated core of devoted comics fans who's patronage kept that wonderful little store alive for 28 years, but the complete lack of parking in that shopping center made a mockery of the $5,000+ in rent that we were paying each month, especially for a smallish second floor location.

And he took the opportunity to remind customers of any store,

On a closely related topic, I do want to urge everyone who reads my newsletter to please resolve to support their local comics retailer during 2019. The economics of selling new issues has become total madness as the cover prices of periodical comics now reach up into the $5/copy range. With comics retailers buying non-returnable (an arrangement that I helped to pioneer in the late-1970's), all the risk is upon them as regards unsold product. That worked well when cover prices were under $1, but today's high cover prices are causing crippling losses to comics retailers whenever a title sells fewer copies than expected.

To illustrate what I mean, take note of the number of new comics that your local retailer has sitting on his shelves that are over 2 weeks old. Based upon the traditional measure in the magazine business that 90%of the sales on any given issue occur during the first 15 days after release, those unsold copies are essentially a lost cause. A few may yet sell, and there is always some long term residual demand as back issues, but for the most part those unsold issues have just declined in value by at least 90%.

Sadly, even the best and brightest retailers misjudge on occasion, and the consequences of unsold new comics stock can now be devastating. With a wholesale cost of upwards of $2 each, any significant number of unsold new comics can easily wipe out an entire week's earnings for a comics specialty store in a heartbeat. Simply put, the risks of selling new comics in a comics specialty store now far outweigh the rewards.

Bleeding Cool tries to mark the passing of comic stores as well as new arrivals on the scene. We're more likely to hear about the former rather than the latter due to concerned fans, but do please feel free to let us know the changes in your own local marketplace.

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