Blessings is opening a new store in Chilliwack, British Columbia, on Aug. 1. Led by Mark Hutchinson, the Canadian chain will then have four brick-and-mortar locations and an online store.

The new retail location is on the ground floor of the Blessings headquarters building with corporate offices on the upper floor along with the online retail operation.

It will be a full-service Christian resource store offering books, Bibles, music, DVDs and “a vast range of gifts, which will include personalized gifts and fairly traded product from around the globe,” Hutchinson told Christian Retailing.

The chain is also engaging e-book readers.

“We are pleased to announce that we have entered into a partnership with Kobo e-books, through Blessings.com,” Hutchinson said. “We as a company pride ourselves on ensuring that we can provide our customers with the product they are looking for in a timely manner. You are able to shop at Blessings, in store, on the phone online and [purchase] e-books through our Kobo partnership. Wherever you are, we at Blessings aim to serve you, in local communities. Using technology and efficiency, we believe that we can remain competitive and a good source for Christians to shop in local communities.”

Hutchinson took a bankrupt bookstore chain and turned it into a thriving business. He will present a 2 p.m. workshop Tuesday, June 25, at the International Christian Retail Show in St. Louis on “How to Turn Around a Store in a Tough Environment.” The session is sponsored by CBA Thrive.

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