Christian retailers with ‘in-store experience’ will benefit, says CBA head

The United Methodist Publishing House (UMPH), Cokesbury’s parent company, will close all of the historic chain’s 57 stores by April 30. 

Announcing the move Nov. 5, the UMPH board of directors said it will launch “a transition initiative” for its retail division. CokesburyNext will sell books, products and services at Cokesbury.com, the Cokesbury Call Center and through more than 40 sales representatives, as well as conferences, meetings and church events. The chain will be closing its 38 brick-and-mortar locations and 19 seminary stores, with the first shuttering this month.

“Cokesbury has been serving for more than 200 years, and during that time has continuously adapted to the changing landscape affecting congregations and their leaders,” said UMPH President and Publisher Neil Alexander. “A shift toward all things digital and the convenience of placing orders at any time is the reality of Cokesbury today. It is difficult to see the closure of Cokesbury local stores, but doing so will allow us to make a greater investment in the ways of shopping with Cokesbury that customers increasingly prefer.”

UMPH officials said 185 full-time employees and 100-plus part-time staff will be laid off by the store closings. UMPH will provide both severance packages and job-search services for staff.

Cokesbury has seen a steady increase in sales through Cokesbury.com and its Cokesbury Call Center operation in the past 10 years. 

At the same time, the number of Cokesbury customers relying solely on store locations has steadily declined. In its  most recent customer survey, only 15% of Cokesbury’s customers reported shopping exclusively in stores, UMPH officials said. 

CBA President Curtis Riskey told Christian Retailing that he was “not necessarily surprised the company is moving in the direction it is.”

Cokesbury is “a very unique Christian retailer where 85% of its current customer base shops in multiple ways outside of the brick-and-mortar model,” he said. “The company is changing its business model based on how its customers use the stores and purchase products, which is primarily online. However, his model does not translate to all retailers. A need remains for physical stores because people like to shop in them. 

“We think the loss of physical Cokesbury stores will benefit existing Christian stores, as customers who are looking for the in-store experience will find other Christian locations to shop,” Riskey added. “A recent Bowker Market Research study found that the brick-and-mortar store is still the number one way that readers learn about new titles and authors.”

Munce Group President Kirk Blank agreed. 

“We had a local Cokesbury store in Clearwater, Fla., that closed,” he said. “Their strategy of using local reps to serve the churches appears to be working. I had thought if their strategy worked, more and more of the Cokesbury stores would close. I was surprised that all of the stores would be closed by April.

 “This is another opportunity to see independent retailers, especially Munce Group member stores, step up in an even greater way to serve their communities,” Blank added. “This is also an opportunity for our vendor community to see the importance of the local independent Christian store.”

Bill Nielsen, chief operating officer of Berean Christian Stores, saw the closure as “a bit of a surprise.”

“While the trends of Christian stores closing is not something that is a surprise to anyone, it is never welcome news and never good for our industry,” he said. “I have firsthand experience in knowing how much denominations appreciate having a local brick-and-mortar store to serve them in their local community. Such a denominational following is a strength that I had hoped would keep Cokesbury strong for years to come.  

“Our industry has seen store closures to the point where too many markets are now underserved or not served at all,” Nielsen added. “Therefore the additional loss of any store regardless of size is bad for us. Losing a large group of stores that offer centralized buying, merchandising and marketing for the suppliers is even worse. 

“I understand Cokesbury has plans to maintain the majority of their sales. I fear the road for them in this regard may be challenging, but it is in everyone’s interest to pray for and cheer them on in the process.”