Serving the needs of local congregations is a growth area for stores to pursue

Michelle Brown believes so strongly in church supplies that last fall she dedicated a section of her 1,800-square-foot location to this category to stimulate more interest in Word of God Christian Resources.

The outreach is working. During 2010, the store derived 48% of its revenue from church supplies. That nearly matched 2009’s figure of 51% despite a third consecutive annual decrease in giving to churches nationwide.

“I go to every church and say, ‘I will give you a 5% discount, pay shipping and deliver the material to you,’ ” Brown said. “A lot of churches don’t realize what a local Christian bookstore can do. We research the best prices and products. We need our churches or we wouldn’t be here.”

Bibles may be immune to the e-publishing challenge to print

Abingdon Press	Danteck Group	Thomas Nelson	Zondervan

While talk about digital products generally makes brick-and-mortar Christian retailers quite nervous, they should be encouraged when it comes to non-print formats available in their Bible department.

For many have experienced success with sales beyond the printed page in recent years, and though the growth of e-books is viewed as a threat to other categories, when it comes to God’s Word, some see the trend as less troubling and even potentially positive.

Long before e-readers, Christian stores were selling the Bible in non-print formats, from audio editions on multiple cassettes to early software. Listen-to versions got a major boost in the last few years when the two leading Bible publishers each brought out their own, award-winning digital audio editions with all-star casts.

With more than 2 million in sales, a children’s version due to release in November and a movie adaptation, Heaven is for Real (Thomas Nelson) has been one the surprise hits of the Christian publishing world, since its release last fall.

Like William P. Young’s best-seller The Shack, it is one of those titles that has been propelled more by word-of-mouth recommendation than advertising and promotion.

We talked with representatives of publishers of similar titles, which have racked up sales of more than a million without a major marketing push, about handling such unexpected successes and the role Christian retail stores have in their impact.

Taking part in the discussion were: 

• Woodley Auguste, director of marketing and publicity for Charisma Media’s book division, Charisma House (23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese, 2006) 
• Don Gates, vice president of marketing for trade books at Zondervan (The Man in the Mirror by Patrick Morley, 2000) 
• Laura Minchew, vice president & publisher, children and gift specialty books for Thomas Nelson (Jesus Calling by Sarah Young, 2004) 
• LaRae Weikert, vice president of editorial for Harvest House (The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian, 1995) 

Woodley Auguste	Don Gates	Laura Minchew	LaRae Weikert

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: How did your million-seller hits come about?

WOODLEY AUGUSTE: I think it was the popularity of books based on the afterlife and the supernatural. In light of current events, people are asking some questions about faith—most importantly and of course—the afterlife. Books like 23 Minutes in Hell that are in that genre meet that felt need. I think that as things seem to become more chaotic, people were intrigued by asking the question, “Is heaven or hell real?” A book by a realtor that was not a preacher—was just an “Average Joe,” if you will, recounting a vision—I think it really piqued people’s interest.

The pro-marriage hit Fireproof (Provident Films/Provident-Integrity Distribution) shot up to the top of the SoundScan Christian Videos list for sales the week ending Feb. 1, while Gaither Vocal Band Reunion Volume One (Gaither Music Group/EMI CMG Distribution) reached No. 1 on the Christian/Gospel music Christian retail chart.

After Fireproof , the best-selling DVDs were: 2. Facing the Giants (Provident Films/Provident-Integrity); 3. Gaither Vocal Band Reunion Volume One (Gaither Music Group/EMI CMG); 4. Gaither Vocal Band Reunion Volume Two (Gaither Music Group/EMI CMG); 5. Flywheel (Provident Films/Provident-Integrity); 6. Alligator Hunter, Life at the Pond (Isaac Entertainment/Word Distribution); 7. The Gift of Christmas, Really Woolly (Flying Rhinoceros/DaySpring); 8. The Second Chance (Provident Films/Provident-Integrity); 9. Wow Gospel 2009 by various artists (Wow Gospel/Provident-Integrity); and 10. Love's Enduring Promise (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment/Word).

As Christian suppliers and retailers face a slump in consumer spending, they are looking to children’s products as a bright spot on a gloomy horizon.

A strong line of new releases and innovative marketing efforts offer hope for the spring and summer seasons, while stores have been urged to ensure that they cater to the tastes of increasingly media-savvy young visitors.