Comic Shop Spotlight: Captain Blue Hen Comics
Jan 11, 2016
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Captain Blue Hen Comics in Newark, Delaware.
OWNER: Joe & Danielle Murray
MANAGER: Joe Murray, Kita Roberts
NUMBER OF LOCATIONS: 1
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 5
YEAR OPENED: 1981
STORE SIZE (square feet): 2,000
Favorite Recent Comic Book: Long Distance
How was your Halloween ComicFest event? Don’t participate. The city does a different event that interferes with ComicFest, but we do order books to use on FCBD and other events.
What has been your best promotion or event? Harry Potter night for final book. Our ladies night was successful, as are our summer holiday flea markets, and Superman’s birthday party.
What recent changes have you made in the store? Completely remodeled the store over last two years. When we finally figure out our interior signs, we should be done for a while.
What steps have you taken to expand your customer base or to reach out to individuals unfamiliar with your store or comics in general? A great deal of effort is spent growing our brand with schools and libraries. A good percentage of my time is spent speaking at, visiting, processing orders for, delivering to, or plotting with librarians, teachers, and students. We’re doing a big Back to the Future Day with the city of Newark.
What are your plans for the near future? Improve signage inside and out. Upgrade computers. Re-structure our subscription service. Generate more social content.
How did you choose your store name? Our founder was a teacher and asked his students. They picked “Captain” because it was heroic and “Blue Hen” because we’re near the University Of Delaware.
What superpower would you most like to have? Bugs Bunny’s power suite – invulnerability, confoundment, free express delivery, master of disguise, subterranean travel, and limited flight.
What do you do to retain or engage your regular customers? Our weekly “Question Of the Week offers us an opportunity to chat up our customers, engage in fun debate, and vote for their favorite answer. Holiday bonus cards for good customers to pick their own sales. We’re relaunched our podcast, “Previously on Captain Blue Hen” and started a “Find Cappy Joe” game for kids.
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Islands and endcaps dot the sales floor... |
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| Click here to see more stores featured in the Comic Shop Spotlight! | ||
