Comic Con India: The process, pros and cons of having your own store.
2023 was the second year our brand A47, which exclusively makes official merchandise for Indian institutions like the Indian Space Research Organisation and The Armed Forces, had a store at comic con India. As I'm writing this we’ve finished participating in the Bangalore comic con. And we still have Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai to go.
How do you get store space and what does it cost?
So you get in touch with the organizers 4-5 months in advance, they send you a layout and you pick what's available. You have a choice of 3ft x 3ft, 3ft x 2ft, 2ft x 2ft (perfect for artists etc) or you can go for a combination like 6ft X 3ft and so on. The cost is where things get ‘interesting’. They charged us 180000 for a 3x3 but 80000 to another business. Many emails were exchanged, many teeth were nashed, I won’t go into it but they charged us more for ‘reasons’. Oh well, in the end they barely budged, and we have a business to run, so we caved. So ya that's that. So if you’re getting a store space at comic con, act as ‘startupy’ as possible.Getting your goods there and store essentials.
The store space comes with 2 or 3 walls and open store fronts, you get 2 chairs, 3 spot lights and 2 tables. That's about it. If you want more you have to pay up. That's fair. You have to setup the store yourself obviously. Any vinyls you need to print , additional electrical work, carpentry etc. you have to source by yourself. They give you access to the venue a day in advance so it's not rushed. But jeez it's exhausting. Especially if you’re a small business. Carry all the stationary and hardware that you can, you’re going to need it. Alternatively you can hire an event agency to set up your store for you, that is, if you drive a fully optioned Mercedes S-class. Your MAJOR expense is going to be hotels and flights for your staff. If Comic con is taking place in the city you’re based in… congratulations! You may dive into a pool of gold coins! The cost to transport your goods depends on how far your base is. We’re based in Mumbai, so getting our stuff to Bangalore via truck really wasn't very expensive. And now we come to internet access, 90% of your payments are going to be electronic and you need the internet to make that happen. Now, during the event everyones internet ‘mysteriously’ stops working. Don't worry, they've got your back! You can have your own special internet connection for the tiny tiny sum of 20000 rupees a day. Or you can have access to their wifi for 3000 rupees a day which is what we opted for and thankfully that did the trick. Phew!
The crowd, the staff and the atmosphere.
The crowd is awesome! Most nerds and geeks are kind, intelligent people. We love talking to them! They ask you great questions! & they really appreciate good design and product. The cosplayers are amazing, the level of workmanship, attention to detail and passion is a real treat to watch. And as of 2023, comic con is dominated by Anime! If you really really squint you'll see the odd marvel or DC hero. From a market research point of view this is a gold mine! The panels, performers and live shows are usually pretty decent. The sponsored content like an ad for a car or the trailer for an upcoming movie plays on loop all day which is annoying initially but you get used to it. The key staff is hard to get a hold of, but helpful. The crowd starts coming in at around 11.00-11.30am and the day ends at around 8pm. There are some fantastic stores to visit with some superb merchandise and collectables! But the amount of unlicensed or counterfeit goods is insane! Around 50%-60% of the stores sell counterfeit merch, which is a little disingenuous to this passionate crowd. Oh well. If I had to rate the cities in terms of sales and atmosphere, I would put Bangalore in first place, Mumbai in second and Delhi in third. This year will be the first time for Chennai and Hyderabad, I think they’ll be pretty awesome.
Pros:
If you deal in pop culture merch this is ‘the’ place! These are your people!
The Organisers know how to draw a crowd for sure
The venues are pretty centrally located
Its reasonably well organized and is very clean and sanitary
F & B is usually pretty good
If you get the time and are a nerd, plenty to shop and experience!
Cons:
The fee structure for the store space is, um, ‘unusual’
Counterfeit/unlicensed merch is rampant.
Finding and coordinating with vendors in a foreign city is challenging
Wifi and other extras are ridiculously expensive.
Yup i don't really have anything else to add!
