Joe Quesada was asked about the retailer poll and, in discussing it, stated that:
“If a major account tells us they like a business policy because it helps them move more units and order more Marvel product we will listen much more intently than if five tiny accounts told us they didn’t.”
I’ve no doubt.
Me, all I know is that thus far the responses are coming in so lopsidedly against Marvel that it’s becoming embarrassing. At the very least…at the VERY least…it makes very understandable and defensible why Heidi would have stated “most retailers” are against it. Marvel’s opinion thus far seems buoyed by an ostensible majority that is not only silent, but tongue-tied.
It is entirely possible that the Fortune 300 doesn’t want to be bothered saying anything. But I’m not exactly tracking with why that would be. Perhaps they worry about being publicly villified by other, opposing retailers. But I’ve made clear that confidentiality will be honored where desired, and I’d like to think people take my word for it.
I submit another possibility. Just food for thought:
The notion that some retailers are smart enough businessmen to know that Marvel had already committed to their current policies. Policies which, I should re-emphasize, are working…at least as far as Marvel is concerned. So why rock the boat? Perhaps one doesn’t stay in the inner circle unless one says what people want to hear. Maybe they figure that if they don’t say what Marvel wants to hear, Marvel will stop listening altogether.
I don’t claim to know. I don’t know, because I’m not hearing from these many retailers who support Marvel. I *am* hearing from retailers who identify themselves as top sellers in the marketplace, and I gotta say…they’re not loving the policies.
The purpose of the poll is not to pillory Marvel or make anyone out to be liars. It was to spread information. It was to explore why a CBG columnist reported one thing and Marvel said in an incredibly aggressive manner that she was wrong, holding her up for public ridicule while doing so.
Maybe retailers who tell Marvel they support their policies don’t want to admit they’re just saying what Marvel wants to hear. Or maybe they don’t want to risk putting themselves at odds with other retailers. There’s no way to know. Heck, maybe they just don’t give a dámņ about polls, in which case we’ll never know.
But it certainly would be nice to.
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