Event for Catholic, Episcopal products industry sees good retailer turnout

Organizers of the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit (RBTE) convention reported a good turnout among retailers and steady sales for vendors for the 20th annual gathering, held May 31-June 3 at the Pheasant Run Resort in the Chicago suburb of St. Charles, Ill.

As in 2010, RBTE drew more than 200 book and gift buyers and 100-plus exhibitors. Total attendance was 520—down from last year’s 550 attendees, organizers said.

Evangelical suppliers who exhibited at RBTE included Baker Publishing Group, InterVarsity Press, Kregel Publications and Thomas Nelson. 

Noelle Pedersen—manager of Lion Hudson Distribution, whose products are distributed to the North American religious market by Kregel Publications—told Christian Retailing that RBTE was “great.”

“The booksellers I talked to were all doing well,” she said. “Every year the goal is to reach new stores that haven’t ordered directly from Kregel before. … The number of orders compared to last year was very slightly down. However, the sales were stronger this year.”

InterVarsity Press Marketing Manager Deborah Gonzalez said that the convention was “a great show.”  It was clear that retailers, vendors and dealers were happy to be there, and a lot of valuable connections were made, she added. 

“We did well in terms of orders, and increased our sales significantly compared to last year," Gonzalez said. "With plenty of visitors to our booth and two of our authors at the autographing session, our goals were definitely accomplished.”