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Mandarake Profits and Business Model Date: 2/23/2005 |
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Japanese Specialty Shop Shifting Focus to the Otaku Market -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mandarake, the Japanese store aimed at hardcore anime and manga fans, announced results for the 1st quarter of 2005. sales were 1.26 billion yen (US$11million) (+11.9%), net operating profit after taxes was 54 million yen (US$514,000) (+135.4%) and recurring profit was 4 million yen (US$38,000) (-77.5%). Sales are mainly made up of anime related goods like cells, CDs, DVDs, etc... Listed by category 26.4% of sales were books, 22.2% toys, 27.3% dojinshi and 23.9% cells, DVDs and CDs. Currently Mandarake is only present in the largest cities of the country, but on the long run the goal is to become a chain with an extensive network. However, expansion is taking place at a much slower pace than expected. while new stores open up, others shut down resulting in a fluctuating number of locations. Multiple stores had been opened abroad in America, Italy and other countries, but now they are unified in one online store. Mandarake plans to strengthen branches in the major cities, increase online sales and improve auction business. Mandarake's business model varies from store to store. In the flagship stores in larger cities it focuses on the extreme Otaku market, stocking a large number of doujinshi, cells and premium items, while its stores in other cities focus on more mainstream items. Overall the stores sales of books and other publications is decreasing, while its "otaku" sales have increased. |
| Source: Anime News Network |
