Retailers take a shot at cashing in on the 'Slam Dunk' resurgence

Convenience store branch 7-Eleven will sell 2,000 sets of ″Slam Dunk″ comic books in pre-orders from Friday. [7-ELEVEN]

As the animated film of popular Japanese sports manga "Slam Dunk" stirs up nostalgia from its fans, retail companies are shooting to increase revenue by selling the comic books.

Convenience store branch 7-Eleven will be selling 2,000 newly re-edited sets of the comic book series from Friday, it announced Tuesday.

Of the 2,000 sets, 1,800 will be sold online through pre-orders and 200 will be sold offline at four of its locations in Seoul.

Auction, an e-commerce company, will host the "Auction Comic Show 2023" from Tuesday to Sunday. The event will have participations from a number of comic book publishers selling 130 different comic series.

Some of the comics on sale include "Slam Dunk," "One Piece," "Demon Slayer," "Black Clover" and "Chainsaw Man."

Auction and another e-commerce company Gmarket announced that the total revenue of "Slam Dunk" comic books between Jan. 4, the date when the animated film "The First Slam Dunk" was released, and Sunday saw a 7,530 percent increase on year.

Meanwhile, 7-Eleven began selling "Slam Dunk wine" at its convenience stores from Feb. 1, with 80 percent of its consumers being men in their 30s and 40s.

"The 'Slam Dunk' series became best sellers as the 'Slam Dunk' fad stirs nostalgia from customers, taking them back to the days when they flipped over the comic book pages," 7-Eleven's merchandiser Oh Dong-geun said Tuesday.

BY HYEON YE-SEUL [sohn.dongjoo@joongang.co.kr]