Christian publishers should ask themselves what they are doing that might be harming Christian retail stores, and how they can help, said the chairman-elect of CBA.

If the Christian retail channel is important to suppliers, "then they need to ask themselves, 'OK, what are we doing that hurts Christian stores and that we may need to stop doing or need to change? And what can we do to help them?'" said George Thomsen.

His comments came in an interview Thursday with Bridge-Logos Foundation CEO Lloyd Hildebrand on the publisher's "We're Talking Books" weekly Web radio program. Asked how publishers could help Christian stores, Thomsen added that Christian channel--exclusives such as the Operation Worship Bible campaign with Tyndale House Publishers last year had been very successful.

During the program, Thomsen said that while it was good that Christian products were more widely available than ever through multiple channels, "we have to ask ourselves, 'What would the world look like without Christian retail in a community?' " Though Christian consumers might sometimes save on price or convenience by buying elsewhere, "at the end of the day, there might be a greater cost that is paid to the Christian community."

The manager of church-based The Harvest Store in Riverside, Calif., Thomsen told Hildebrand that although e-books would have an impact in the industry, he did not believe that it would be as significant as the shift in digital music--which had seen music sales in his store drop from 19% to around 7%.

"I do not want to come across as naive or have my head in the sand," he said, "but there was more of an experiential" aspect to books that readers appreciated.

Click here to listen to the full interview

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