{"site":"Yomimono","license":"CC BY 4.0 (citation required)","generated_at":"2026-05-22T19:39:06.505Z","story":{"id":"r_c962ccdcaca8408a973fb47c","slug":"kadokawa-forms-subsidiary-to-run-its-u-s-manga-spot-stores","url":"https://yomimono.id/kadokawa-forms-subsidiary-to-run-its-u-s-manga-spot-stores","headline":"Kadokawa Forms Subsidiary to Run Its U.S. Manga Spot Stores","summary":"Kadokawa created a new subsidiary, Kadokawa Retail Ventures, to manage its growing chain of Manga Spot bookstores in the United States. The publisher has opened ten locations since its first store launched in May 2025, placing them in cities from New York and Chicago to smaller hubs like Grove City, Pennsylvania, and Ketchikan, Alaska. Kurt Hassler, who leads Yen Press and Kadokawa World Entertainment, will run the new retail unit. Hassler previously helped Borders and Waldenbooks build their manga sections. He told a podcast last year that the chain aims to go where there is less competition from existing comic shops and that shopping malls remain a viable location, pointing to the survival of specialty retailer Hot Topic. The move comes two and a half years after Kadokawa began its North American marketing push. The company sees direct retail as a way to get more face time with customers, a problem Hassler said most publishers share.","why_it_matters":"The subsidiary structure signals that Kadokawa treats its U.S. stores as a permanent business line rather than a temporary marketing experiment, with a leader who shaped manga retail at two major bookstore chains now building a chain that deliberately targets areas other manga sellers have ignored.","published_at":"2026-05-16T05:17:19.000Z","source_count":1,"sources":["Animenomics"],"citations":[{"source":"Animenomics","title":"Kadokawa commits to U.S. manga retail venture","url":"https://news.animenomics.com/p/kadokawa-commits-to-us-manga-retail-venture"}],"license_url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/","entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"studios":["Kadokawa"],"people":[],"type":"business","domain":"industry","is_roundup":false}}}