Diamond Comics Announces They Will “Hold Payments To Vendors” Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

Diamond Comics recently announced that they will be putting payments to their vendors on hold amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The announcement comes after Diamond Comic Distributors Founder and the Chairman and CEO of Geppi Family Enterprises Steve Geppi announced they would be shutting down comic book distribution for the foreseeable future.

Related: Diamond Comics Shuts Down Comic Book Distribution

In an email to their vendors, obtained by Newsarama, President of Geppi Family Enterprises Stan Heidmann explains the reason for putting their payments on hold is due to cash flow problems resulting from the fact that their customers are no longer paying them.

Heidmann explains, “While the full impact of this epidemic is still unknown, one thing is certain: supply chain disruptions have cash flow implications across the extended industry that can’t be underestimated.”

He adds, “While we work to understand the current industry landscape, the unfortunate truth is that we are no longer receiving consistent payments from our customers.”

Heidmann then states since they are no longer receiving payments from their customers, they will not be paying their vendors, “This requires that at this time, we hold payments to vendors previously scheduled to release this week.”

However, Heidmann does conclude the email saying, “As this situation continues to evolve, we are committed to building out a plan for payment and will have more information to share later this week.”

For those unfamiliar with how Diamond Comic Distributors operate, their customers are primarily comic book shops, who in many states have been forced to shut down by order of the government.

Their vendors are primarily the comic book publishers like Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

You can read the full letter below:

“Dear Diamond Vendor:

As the world responds to the outbreak of COVID-19, our focus is on protecting employees, understanding the risks to our business, evaluating the risks to our industry and examining the Federal Government resources available. While the full impact of this epidemic is still unknown, one thing is certain: supply chain disruptions have cash flow implications across the extended industry that can’t be underestimated.

While we work to understand the current industry landscape, the unfortunate truth is that we are no longer receiving consistent payments from our customers. This requires that at this time, we hold payments to vendors previously scheduled to release this week. This is a difficult decision and not one we make lightly. As this situation continues to evolve, we are committed to building out a plan for payment and will have more information to share later this week.

Thank you for your patience and understanding during these difficult times.

Stan Heidmann
President, Geppi Family Enterprises”

DC Comics appears to have either known about this decision before Heidmann sent out the email or had foreseen this coming as they announced they are already working on figuring out a way to distribute their comics outside of Diamond Comic Distributors.

Related: DC Comics Lays Out Its Plan To Help Retailers During Shutdown of the Direct Market

In a letter to retailers, DC Comics stated, “Additionally, because we anticipate that continued disruption to business operations will create regional volatility, DC is exploring a multi-distributor model to provide us with the flexibility needed during this crisis to get new content to our readers on an ongoing basis.”

They also noted they are working with Diamond to solve the distribution issue as well. The letter reads, “In the short-term, we continue to engage in active conversations with Diamond to help us solve the distribution issues that have arisen and hope to get new product to stores that want or need it as soon as possible.”

What do you make of Diamond Comic Distributors announcement that they will stop paying their vendors?

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