Wizard World May Not Be Able to Continue After 2018 Without Major Changes
Convention chain Wizard World has had a rocky few years, and things certainly haven’t gotten better. The latest “bad news” comes in their 2017 third quarter report, where the company has warned that there is “substantial doubt” that they can continue with their current model after November of 2018.
As reported by Newsarama, Wizard World, Inc stated:
The Company had a loss from operations of $4,454,857 and $1,182,246 for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and the year ended December 31, 2016, respectively. As of September 30, 2017, we had cash and working capital deficit (excluding the derivative liability) of $1,176,034 and $1,514,182, respectively. […] We have evaluated the significance of these conditions in relation to our ability to meet our obligations and have concluded that, due to these conditions, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern through November 2018.
Over the last few years the company has seen some major losses, and the company has drastically shrunk the number of cons they run (from 25 in 2015 to a planned 17 in 2018). But that rapid expansion had a cost, over saturating the market. I mean, they almost ran a con on a boat at one point.
One of the only reasons the convention has survived this long is because Chairman Paul Kesller infused $2.475 million in a deal with his financial firm Bristol. The company says they may be looking for similar, external measures to keep going, but without some internal changes (to bring in more profit), it’s like bailing water without plugging the leak.
Via Newsarama
If they live or die they’ve still done a bit of damage to the whole convention running field. Guests are now expecting much higher returns so any crossover talent, from general nerd culture to anime stuff, is now looking for either bigger guarantees or charging for autographs, etc.