Why is it that most countries other than the US have the steelbooks? - Blu-ray Forum

mutron · 07-01-2013, 07:27 AM

Through some of my direct work with Scanavo in Calgary, the answer isn't as convoluted as some people are making it: 90% of the time it simply comes down to cost. Scanavo go out and pitch their product to a lot of studios & retailers, but ultimately, they're still just the product manufacturer and facilitator. It really comes down to chains like Future Shop pitching the idea of a Steelbook exclusive from Studio X, licensing said release(s), and then of course selling through. On the flipside, sometimes Studio X will decide to do a one-off or entire wave of releases, and then choose who, if anyone, will get the exclusive. But in the case of chains like Future Shop, they're footing the entire bill. They have to do the licensing, the royalties, the manufacturing and all the shipping - everything. And they rarely, if ever, actually make profit on it. Break even, yes, but rarely anything above that.

Things have changed in recent years now that Scanavo are manufacturing G2 bluray cases in North America, but up until 2010-2011 ish, it was EXTREMELY expensive for any North American based retailer and/or studio to get Steelbooks made because they all had to be done overseas in Europe. This is why G1 cases stuck around for as long as they did - they were already being manufactured in the States, subsequently making them much more affordable.

Anyway, not so nutshelled - it's still cheaper overall for a lot of European outlets to go this route, and in the cases of Zavvi for example, they're in a bulk manufacturing discount contract, where they're just getting a better "deal" cost wise.

07-01-2013, 07:27 AM	#13
mutron Member Member since:Jan 2012	Through some of my direct work with Scanavo in Calgary, the answer isn't as convoluted as some people are making it: 90% of the time it simply comes down to cost. Scanavo go out and pitch their product to a lot of studios & retailers, but ultimately, they're still just the product manufacturer and facilitator. It really comes down to chains like Future Shop pitching the idea of a Steelbook exclusive from Studio X, licensing said release(s), and then of course selling through. On the flipside, sometimes Studio X will decide to do a one-off or entire wave of releases, and then choose who, if anyone, will get the exclusive. But in the case of chains like Future Shop, they're footing the entire bill. They have to do the licensing, the royalties, the manufacturing and all the shipping - everything. And they rarely, if ever, actually make profit on it. Break even, yes, but rarely anything above that. Things have changed in recent years now that Scanavo are manufacturing G2 bluray cases in North America, but up until 2010-2011 ish, it was EXTREMELY expensive for any North American based retailer and/or studio to get Steelbooks made because they all had to be done overseas in Europe. This is why G1 cases stuck around for as long as they did - they were already being manufactured in the States, subsequently making them much more affordable. Anyway, not so nutshelled - it's still cheaper overall for a lot of European outlets to go this route, and in the cases of Zavvi for example, they're in a bulk manufacturing discount contract, where they're just getting a better "deal" cost wise.

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