VIZ and Simon & Schuster renew partnership for U.S. & UK markets

ONE-PUNCH MAN © 2012 by ONE, Yusuke Murata/SHUEISHA Inc.

VIZ MEDIA AND SIMON & SCHUSTER RENEW SUCCESSFUL

INTERNATIONAL SALES AND DISTRIBUTION PARTNERSHIP

Global Publishing Leader To Continue To Offer Retail And Wholesale

Distribution And Develop New Markets in the United States and United

Kingdom For North America’s Foremost Manga Company

VIZ Media and Simon & Schuster have announced the renewal of their longstanding sales and distribution partnership in both the United States and the United Kingdom.

Simon & Schuster has been the exclusive distribution partner of VIZ Media manga titles (graphic novels) for the United States and Canadian markets since 2004, providing a range of retail and wholesale distribution services including warehousing, fulfillment, customer service, and accounts receivable collection for VIZ Media’s substantial library of titles. The company manages distribution for all of VIZ Media’s imprints including Shonen Jump, Shonen Jump Advanced, Shojo Beat, Shonen Sunday, Perfect Square, VIZ Signature, Studio Ghibli Library and Haikasoru.

TOKYO GHOUL © 2011 by Sui Ishida/SHUEISHA Inc.

Since September 2007, Simon & Schuster UK has been the exclusive distributor of VIZ Media titles across several international territories including Great Britain, Ireland and South Africa, and the fast-growing Indian market via Simon & Schuster India.

“The massive popularity of manga among a broad cross-section of international readers of all ages speaks to the universal appeal of the genre,” says Michael Selleck, Simon & Schuster Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing. “We are very happy to deepen our relationship with VIZ Media both domestically and internationally, where we are seeing exciting growth in markets such as the Philippines and Singapore.”

NARUTO - NARUTO ILLUSTRATION BOOK © 2009 by Masashi Kishimoto/SHUEISHA Inc.

“We are delighted to renew our long-standing sales and distribution agreement with VIZ Media,” said Gill Richardson, Group Sales Director, Simon & Schuster UK. “Since 2007, we have been delivering the best manga titles to the UK and Ireland, adding South Africa in 2008, and India in 2014. We look forward to many more years of this fruitful partnership.”

“Simon & Schuster is a key partner for VIZ Media and has provided us with the industry leading infrastructure that has been critical to supporting our continued growth, both across North America and increasingly, in new international territories,” said Kevin Hamric, Senior Director, Publishing Sales & Marketing, VIZ Media. “As the global fan base for VIZ Media’s extensive manga catalog continues to grow in burgeoning markets in India, the Philippines and other countries, Simon & Schuster will play a crucial role in our strategy to develop these new audiences.”