Welcome to Store Tour, ROBOT 6’s weekly exploration of comics shops, and the people who run them; think of it as the retailer version of Shelf Porn. Each Sunday we feature a different store, and also get to know the person behind the register.

To discover a comic store in your area, visit FindAComicShop.com

For this week’s store, we take our first leave of North America to discover England's Page 45, 9 Market St., in Nottingham. We spoke with co-owner Jonathan Rigby.

ROBOT 6: Tell me about the layout of your store. How did you work that out?

Jonathan Rigby: Well, we still have the original layout from when we opened over 20 years ago! We are going to undertake a full refit of our premises later this year, having recently purchased the whole building from our landlord. Obviously times have changed considerably with the ever-continuing rise of the graphic novel format, but when we first opened we only had about 200 graphic novels, all face-on, pretty much everything that was available, plus lots of comics of course. So layout wasn’t too much of an issue, but filling the shelves was! Whereas now we stock over 6,000 graphic novels, with the current shelf space being the only limitation from stocking considerably more. Which when we refit is something that we will be able to remedy thank goodness!

The main thing you will notice when you enter Page 45, though, is that you’ll see the "real mainstream" graphic novels at the front of the shop, in other words fiction and nonfiction of every conceivable genre. In fact, "real mainstream" was a term coined by [co-owner] Stephen [Holland] in a column he used to write for Comics International back in the day, which has since become part of the industry language. The superheroes are tucked away right at the back of the shop because we would rather promote all the other quality material that deserves and needs promoting. It’s a frankly absurd situation that 5 percent of the comics industry’s output manages to get about 95 percent of the publicity to the extent it virtually drowns out the rest.





What is your store's secret origin? How did it come to be? How did you decide on its name and location?

Page 45 is a comic shop whose goal has always been simple: to bring the widest range of quality comics and graphic novels available into contact with as many new people as possible, and to do so with a warmth, honesty and informed eloquence in a relaxed, welcoming and professional environment. To recreate the European model which has meant that comics and their creators there have always been received with the respect they deserve and the sales to accompany it.

The location came about because we wanted to be somewhere "between." We are located on one of the main streets leading down from one of Nottingham’s two Universities into the main Market Square, the center of the city. Of course after 20 years we are now undoubtedly a "destination" shop, too -- people come directly to us -- but it was the perfect location to pick. Also, we opened right next door to another comic shop, part of a chain which no longer exists. Great customer service meant most of their customers, and staff, were soon shopping with us ...

The name Page 45 was in part picked to make you ask! Because if you ask, you’ve remembered it! It has a nice cadence, too, and most crucially is style positive, content neutral, something that we felt was extremely important in attracting in, not dissuading, the wider book reading public. But, if you go pick up a copy of Scott McCloud’s seminal Understanding Comics and read the bottom panel on Page 45, you will see the other reason why we picked that name!

Because there’s more to comics than meets the eye ...



Why did you decide to get into comics retailing? What in your background do you think made you particularly suited for the retail side of comics?

A love of comics, first and foremost. Not everyone who loves comics is cut out for running a comic shop though, that is for sure. There have been a lot of hobbyists who have tried and failed to run stores over the years because they were terrible business people. Basically, you have to approach the business side of things as just that, which in combination with common sense, makes a huge difference. Running a business isn’t easy; you do have to be extremely professional about it if you want to succeed and thrive. But comics certainly are a wonderfully enticing product to sell!

Do you have a philosophy or strategy to retailing? Has it evolved from when you first started? If so, what caused that change?

Understand your customers and be honest. So much of our success has been built on trust: from customers returning after one shop-floor recommendation to ask for another. We never look down on anyone’s tastes, because if you’re having fun then we’re having fun (and it’s you who are paying our wages), but we never have and never will attempt to sell you a dud.

The more we come to understand a customer’s tastes, the more certain we are exactly what forthcoming material they will like. Often, when I am unpacking a delivery of new books, the first thing I will think upon spotting a particular graphic novel is, “Ah, I know exactly who will love this." We have many, many customers who have been with us since day one, and after 20 years in business, I think that level of customer loyalty is testament to our approach.





What are your current bestsellers? What are your favorites that deserve to sell better at your store?

It changes every month, really, but there will always be something that stands out for an extended period of time such as Glyn Dillon’s The Nao of Brown, Rob Davis’ The Motherless Oven, and most recently Scott McCloud’s The Sculptor. In terms of favorites that deserve to sell better, I would say that again there are always several books which we are personally passionate about, which we will additionally recommend to people, when appropriate.

But that goes back to our ethos of trying to make sure that creators of the real mainstream material get the exposure they deserve. And over time we do ensure that our customers are at least exposed to those books whenever possible. A good example might be Brecht Evens’ The Making Of, which came out a couple of years ago. I think it is a brilliant farce, exquisitely illustrated in a very different style. So even now, when I am doing recommendations for people, I will occasionally mention it if I think it might be something a particular person would be interested in, particularly in terms of the art style.



What is your customer base like? How has it changed over time, if at all? Do you have a discount or loyalty program?

We are extremely unusual for a U.K. and also U.S. comic shop in that our customer base is identical to that of a typical bookshop, i.e. 50/50 female-to-male ratio of customers, from children right up through to pensioners. This is simply because we are a bookshop that sells every type of fiction and nonfiction. It just so happens everything we sell is sequential art based. This is absolutely normal for European comic shops outside the U.K., where superheroes haven’t massively distorted the market and thus the customer base.

We don’t have a loyalty program. Nor do we discount books. We simply charge RRP [recommended retail price] on everything, both in-store and online. However, we do offer 10-percent discount on everything to pensioners, those with disabilities, and students. In other words, those who would actually benefit most from receiving a discount.

How do you reach out to new customers? How do you advertise?

We never have advertised actually. We are fortunate that every year a new crop of students arrives at both of Nottingham’s universities, who very quickly find us. Online we are active on social media, which has helped raise the profile of our website and our mail order service. Plus, as people have inevitably moved away from Nottingham over the years, we have managed to retain a considerable number of them on mail order, no matter where they have ended up. We actually have three standing order customers in New Zealand!





As you say, you're very active online, such as Twitter and an excellent website with regular reviews. How do you feel that supports or supplements your store?

It is absolutely essential. We have always reviewed books, right from when we first opened, which we originally used to disseminate in store via printed newsletters! Then by email, and now obviously the website, which is the perfect repository for ensuring the reviews reach the widest possible number of people over time.

The reviews are all about being honest. If you are completely honest about what you read, it will ensure people trust your recommendations. Social media, particularly @pagefortyfive, has been instrumental in us reaching an ever-widening audience. So when we have something exciting happen now, such as Ian Culbard sketching in all our preorders for his The King in Yellow adaptation, we get a huge response, and consequently orders, from literally all over the globe.

How do you like the comiXology digital comics portals you have on your site?

It has been good for us in the sense that when customers do want to get their comics digitally, they can do so via our comiXology storefronts, and so we still get paid. Actually pretty much the same nett amount we do for a sale of a paper comic. I don’t see digital comics as a problem, or an enemy. I think the vast majority of what gets bought digitally currently, would never have been bought in paper format anyway. It is people trying different things or getting hold of out of print material at reasonable prices etc. instead of paying silly money for back issues. Obviously some people have gone completely digital, but there are a tiny, tiny minority, which doesn’t seem to be growing.



Also, tell me about your involvement with the Hive. Do you look for these kinds of partnership opportunities for the store?

The Hive is something that was set up by the U.K.’s largest book and entertainment media stockist supplying shops, Gardners, as an ethical alternative to Amazon. The basic premise is that people can browse Gardners’ vast catalog of books, ebooks, DVDs and music and if they choose to order something, often at slightly discounted prices very comparable to Amazon, they can nominate their favourite independent bookstore to get a cut of the sale.

Plus, a customer can choose to either have it delivered to that nominated bookstore for free to collect whenever they like, or for a small charge, again much less than Amazon, have their purchase delivered direct to their home. But, either way, the bookshop nominated gets a cut! It is in Gardners’ best interests that bookstores thrive and succeed because as a book and entertainment media stockist, that is where the vast majority of their business is always going to come from.

We don’t actively look for these types of partnerships, simply because running the shop just takes all the time we have, but occasionally we will become aware of something like the Hive that would be mutually beneficial and also ethically sound, and then we will throw our full weight of support behind it.

Do you have any events or programming, such as signings?

We have very few these days, simply because we are in an era of endless conventions where people can see dozens of creators at the same time, so the concept of a single creator signing has considerably less cachet than it used to. We still do the occasional one, like Bryan Lee O’Malley whenever he is in the U.K., for example, where people are queuing for hundreds of yards right down into the Market Square, but they are few and far between now.





Does your store attend conventions? Does it benefit from them?

We don’t. With one notable exception which is the Lakes International Comic Art Festival that takes place every October in Kendal, up in the beautiful Lake District region of the U.K. It is a true festival, like the Angoulême Festival in France, that celebrates every aspect of our beloved medium, where people can meet creators yes, but there are also exhibitions, workshops for adults and children, public talks and so, so much more than just endless lines of people queuing simply to get comics signed. Stephen is actually one of the patrons of the festival, and will actually be heading up to Kendal in a few weeks to do some teaching on comics at the local schools. Get them reading comics while they’re young!!

What do you see as the biggest challenge in the comics industry today that particularly impacts your store?

Convincing the wider U.K. population who don’t read comics yet (the fools!!!), that superheroes does NOT equal the totality of comics. It is a discussion the wider industry is gradually winning, but it’s a wonderful pleasure whenever we see someone of any age realize for the first time just how much brilliant comics material of every genre is available. You can practically see the scales falling from their eyes on the shop floor ...

There are so many more potential entry points into comics for people than ever before too. When someone who has never read comics before asks us to show them some, we are spoilt for choice. We always find out what they like in other mediums, such as prose, or TV and films, and work from there.

For example, I think over the last few years crime comics, the likes of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips’ Criminal, have been a massive success in that respect, getting people brand new to comics to give them a try. Plus I think the shift in television viewing to the longer form drama readily equates to the episodic nature of many comics, which has therefore appealed greatly to some new readers.

And whilst we are still massively under-represented compared to other entertainment mediums, comics are gradually getting more attention in the newspapers and everyday news websites, which of course always helps. Some of it is actually nothing to do with superhero comics too ...

Yes, many people who read real mainstream comics material do also read superhero comics, as do I, and fortunately it’s very easy once someone has read Jonathan Hickman’s Avengers and loved it, to then persuade them to look at his East Of West for example. So the continuing crossover of numerous quality writers and artists back and forth between the superhero fictional sub-genre and the real mainstream is admittedly very useful in getting people to try new things, even it is the new Avengers film that has lured them in.

Finally, just to note, the percentage of the U.K. (and U.S. for that matter) that does read comics is still relatively very low compared to say France or Spain, and Japan, but it is growing steadily in the U.K., which is great. It’s always nice to be in a growth industry!





Conversely, what is the industry's biggest asset that is helping you be successful?

The hard-won respect and love of creators and customers alike. Over the years Page 45 has built up a reputation for championing the real mainstream of the comics medium, which people appreciate. Our biggest asset really though is the amazing material that these creators keep producing, because once you understand what your customers like, it’s very, very easy to sell brilliant comics and graphic novels to them!

With all of the people that come through your store, I imagine you must have some great stories. What is the funniest or most memorable moment you've seen in your store?

Where to even begin?!! I have actually made very considerable notes for a graphic novel all about the wonderful weirdness of comic retailing. One day I might actually might find the time to write it...

Anything coming up at Page 45 that is a good excuse for someone to stop by?

Our 21st birthday party later this year! We will be having a huge booze bash, complete with some special guests. Follow us on @pagefortyfive as we will be announcing it in full detail before too long!

If you’d like to see your store featured here on Robot 6, email here.