How stores can stand out from the rest by focusing on what makes them the best

When we realized a few years ago that the trends in our industry were not looking good, my management team and I got together to discuss what we should do.

We visited successful independent retailers in other markets in our Northwest region to see what they were doing and asked ourselves what we could offer that no one else was.

As a result, we implemented a series of changes that saw us recently enjoy the best fiscal year ever in our 21-year history. Certainly prayer and hard work were part of the reason, but there are other factors I offer to independents wondering what they can do to turn things around.

THINK GOALS

We set written individual goals for each employee, weekly and monthly, in addition to the normal store goals. Each frontliner is given an individual sales goal for the month that details how much they are to ring up, what their average sale should be, the number of items per transaction and how many premiums they are to sell. This is based on the store's sales volume goals that are set each month, and we make sure the goals are reasonable and attainable.

In large part because of this increased sense of focus, we were able to increase our gross profit by more than 1% in the first year and increase the average sale by $1 per transaction.

When we experience a sales decrease, we are able to understand and evaluate what happened and take corrective action. This system has helped us work together to achieve goals that have blessed our staff and business.

We have been able to give staff performance bonuses throughout the year, and it has also been possible to provide a year-end performance bonus to our top performers.

We also increased our advertising budget, from about 3% to 3.5% , focusing more money on promotions that would attract new customers. As a result, we did not see as sharp of a sales decrease as others in the industry did, except when we were hit by blizzards during the winter.

THINK GIVEAWAYS

One thing that could make us different from anyone else, we decided, was that we could bless our customers. So in addition to offering to pray for them, we also set out to give away more product than anyone else.

For example, we bought magnets with scripture on them and Pass It On cards and gave them away to every customer for several months. We have twice given away a promise book to all mothers in April and May, one year also giving a long-stemmed rose to every mother.

We gave away a book to all customers in June and July that encouraged them to pray for our nation. Another time we gave away a book on prayer to as many people as we could at a local Veteran's Day parade. Copies that were left over after that effort were donated to a ministry helping returning combat troops who were having difficulties.

THINK GENEROSITY

We also decided that rather than just focus on our own concerns, we wanted to do what we could to help other Christian bookstores in the area stay in business, too. We are, after all, brothers and sisters in Christ and co-laborers in His kingdom. So we have "adopted" some stores by sending them product to help them financially, encouraging them, sharing ideas that have worked for us and praying with them.

We have helped stores do their inventory, reviewed financials and have given suggestions on how to improve their operation. We've sold product to struggling stores, including our competition, at our cost to help improve their bottom lines, and we have given them return privileges so they are not afraid to take risks.

We have also helped some stores close—assisting them in creating and helping finance their going-out-of-business promotions and creating signs for them. Most importantly, we have prayed for all these stores and let them know that what they are doing is very important. They are in a spiritual battle, and what they are sharing with their customers can change hearts for eternity.

THINK GLOBAL

We realized that we have a unique opportunity to give our customers opportunities to help people—locally and around the world—when they support us, so we have decided to look for products that we can give away to our customers and our community.

In the last several years we have been able to send thousands of soccer balls for use in evangelistic outreaches and Bibles to Africa. We try to do two promotions a year, one involving soccer balls and one with Bibles. We ask our customers to give $5 towards supplying the items. Depending on how much the balls or Bibles cost, we will double that amount.

We try to buy the best Bibles we can find, so our customers see it as an incredible opportunity to send Bibles worth $40-$70 (retail) for their $5 donation. Similarly, we have been able to send up to six soccer balls for our customer's $5 gift.

Most of the Christian radio stations and some local churches have supported us, and we even had secular radio stations helping us.

THINK GRAB BAG

Another important outcome of our leadership meeting was deciding to make more of selling premiums at the point of sale. We have items at the checkout that are specially priced, usually for $4.97. We have offered books, CDs and DVDs at different times. We also have placed special items at greatly reduced prices, at least 50% off. We have learned the hard way that most premiums need to change monthly to have the best results.

We offer our sales staff bonuses for selling certain items. Sometimes it is only 25 cents, other times it has been as high as $4. To receive the bonus, the associates must have met their sales goals.

We have also paid 25 cents for every new e-mail or customer address added to our database, and given a $1 bonus per Bible imprint. Most of these promotions last one month and vary throughout the year.

THINK GOD

For all of our efforts, we realize that, at the end of the day, it is by His grace and mercy that we are still in business.

It is not about us as much as it is about what the Lord can do for us when we pray together, set goals together and work hard to look for opportunities to bless others with our talent, time and business.

Even in the midst of this success, we realize that at any time, due to circumstances outside of our control, our business could end—but until then we enjoy a great privilege to work with a staff that loves the Lord. They also understand the importance of their jobs in the current cultural struggle for whose value system will reign.

For a more detailed list of ideas implemented in Mark Schoepke's stores, click here.

Making the most of the Christmas quarter

As Christmas product shipments begin arriving this month, stores have the somewhat daunting task of unpacking, checking in and finding storage for their seasonal selections.

How early is too early to start displaying Christmas products has long been up for debate at retail. As with the recent debate on the appropriate wording of the holiday, consumers have strong opinions and often use or withhold their dollars to make their point about when is too early to display Christmas product.

It's all about knowing the preferences of customers and learning what works best through trial and error.

"It seems to make some people upset to put Christmas out too early," said Vicki Geist, gift buyer at Cedar Springs Christian Store in Knoxville, Tenn. "We like to start putting it out in September and be set just in time for our open house in October."

The store previously offered its open house in September, but learned it was too early. Sales improved when the event was moved to October.

In order to accommodate product that rolls into Cedar Springs a month or two before display time, employees section off areas in the backroom for each supplier.

"We get two of each item out of the box—one for display and one to stay in the backroom in front of the boxes of stock—so that our employees can find it easily when they are working with a customer," Geist said.  "We carry a lot of inventory so we have to backstock a lot of product in order to have enough to last through the Christmas season."

Donna Dightman Baker, owner of Dightman's Bible Book Center in Tacoma, Wash., recommended keeping pricepoints down this year. "Twenty-dollar gifts sell well, but the $200 pictures will still be hanging there after Christmas," she said.

Priced to sell

Ordering deep on lower-priced items is important to keep items moving, according to gift buyer Linda Johnson of Wellspring Parable Christian Store in Des Moines, Iowa.

"We have a lot of interest for gifts like miniature water balls because they are priced economically for people to purchase in quantities of 15 or 20," she said.

Go-to items for Dightman's in this price range include chocolate Advent calendars from Vermont Christmas Company and an assortment of Blossom Bucket decorative pieces, both with many offerings under $5.

"Both are inexpensive and sell fast," Baker said.

Should December roll around and your store is overstocked with lots of items not selling, Michael Hupp, president and CEO of Christian Market Consultants and a former retailer, offers some advice.

"Go 20% off around Dec. 10, and Christmas cards can go half off the week before Christmas," he said. Start checking with vendors in November about closeouts for your big half-off sale starting Dec. 25. Get aggressive after Jan. 2, getting rid of the stuff by the end of January, even at 90% off. No one wants to see Christmas during Valentine's Day."

Re-wrapping best-sellers

Publishers and music labels are repackaging some best-selling projects to create new, value-priced gifts.

Integrity Music is re-releasing big catalog titles such as Israel and New Breed's A Timeless Christmas and the multi-artist Worship and Adore: A Christmas Offering.

Thomas Nelson is repackaging Max Lucado's God Came Near ($14.99) and releasing a hardcover deluxe edition with a two-color interior in November.

Readers have enjoyed Melody Carlson's Christmas novels for years, and now six of her books are available in two three-in-one editions, releasing from Revell (Baker Publishing Group) in October and retailing for $19.99 each. The Joy of Christmas includes An Irish Christmas, The Christmas Dog and All I Have to Give. The Treasure of Christmas includes The Christmas Bus, Angels in the Snow and The Gift of Christmas Present.

"Since we, like many publishers, have strong-selling titles that have been selling for decades, it is important to keep the package fresh," said David Lewis, executive vice president, sales and marketing for Baker Publishing Group. "We also bundle two or more titles into a single binding to serve that ‘value' shopper. These ‘value bundles' usually see a single printing, and they can add sales opportunities for the author, the retailer and the publisher, while giving readers a real value."

Outdoor decorating

Americans spent nearly 40% of their 2009 seasonal decorations budget on new outdoor decorations, according to a recently released report from Unity Marketing, Christmas and Seasonal Decorations Report 2010.

Roman has taken three of its popular Christmas lines—Fontanini, The Kneeling Santa and The Joseph Studio—and created life-size outdoor versions based on the original inch-high tabletop pieces.

Stores can display large pieces outdoors to draw in customers. But Geist warns that the large outdoor, and even indoor, decorations have challenges.

"We carry the large nativity from Fontanini, but I wouldn't put it outside for fear of it getting stolen," she said. "We used to carry trees, but we can't compete with the prices that are at the big box stores."

CHRISTMAS RELEASES

Roman's "Kneeling Santa" collection depicts Santa and the baby Jesus. The story revolves around how Santa keeps the importance of the birth alive through the Christmas celebration. The 48-inch yard art, which retails for $135, is made of PVC and glass.

Big Idea releases VeggieTales: It's a Meaningful Life ($14.99, Word Distribution) in October with a lesson on contentment from Larry the Cucumber. Included is "Meant To Be," a song by Steven Curtis Chapman, whose daughter Stevey Joy plays the role of Emma the Rhubarb.

Ace Collins' Stories Behind the Greatest Hits of Christmas ($15.99) offers the stories of the origins of such famous Christmas songs as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "Winter Wonderland" and "White Christmas." Zondervan will release the hardcover book in September.

Lighthouse Christian Products follows last year's strong consumer response to its first ornament introduction in the "Heart of Christmas" series with this month's introduction of three new ornaments. Last year's Jesus, the Heart of Christmas ornament is being joined by Jesus, My Savior; Jesus, My Lord; and Jesus, My Redeemer. These hand-blown glass ornaments come in a red satin finish and feature verses that point to the true nature of Jesus and His role in our lives. Each ornament retails for $9.99.

Integrity Music releases We Adore You, an iWorship Flexx modular worship product, Aug. 24. The project provides seven "song movies" that can be played in full, or churches can customize the song structure in any progression with navigation between verses, bridges and choruses. Featured songs include "Messiah Song" (Jared Anderson), "We Adore You" (Paul Baloche) and "Adore Him" (Kari Jobe).

Seashell Topiary is a new group of made-in-the-USA tapestry woven products from Manual Woodworkers & Weavers comprised of a 72-inch runner, wall hanging, pillow and throw. Created by Sandy Clough, the collection offers the feel of a seaside home at Christmastime. The 17-inch pillow retails for $18.

Christmas RESOURCE CENTER

For more new products for the Christmas season—books, gifts movies, music and more—see the Product News listings at our Web site, www.christianretailing.com.

Digital sales offer hope as CD purchases decline

Music sales have taken a big hit in recent years, but the category still has life in it. In-store sales at Christian retail have dropped much more slowly than in the general market, and some Christian stores have seen success with digital sales.

We discussed some of the music issues with:

Brenda Harrison, co-owner of Lighthouse Christian
Bookstore in Bedford, Ind.

Charlotte Myrick, owner and manager of Baptist Bible &
Book House in Laurel, Miss.

Jeff Williams, co-owner of Bible Book Store
in Victoria, Texas

Read edited excerpts of the conversation below, and listen in on the complete discussion by clicking here.

Christian Retailing: How were music sales for you last year?

Williams: At my store it looks like we were kind of with the industry—our overall music sales were down about 13.5% compared to the previous year.

Myrick: We are not a huge community here in Mississippi, but my sales did not drop quite that much. Part of that is because we did go to the CD-burn system.

Harrison: Actually, our sales for 2009 in music were up over 2008, and if you count the (Quest) isMOD, they were up quite a bit. CDs were about the same.

Christian Retailing: How did digital sales compare to the previous year?

Myrick: Hard to tell because we got our burn system later in the year. We noticed that we were losing sales because of Internet sales and that sort of thing. It was impossible for us to keep everything on the shelf for last-minute sales especially, so we decided to go with the burn system because in this instance, people think that they have to have it immediately, and that was the easiest way for us to get it almost immediately.

Harrison: We installed ours in 2008. Our sales in 2009 on the burn-on-demand were up 34%.

Most of our burn-on-demands are for accompaniment tracks. We still stock accompaniment tracks and regular CDs, too.

Williams: We installed our system in late 2007, so I had a full year to compare 2009 to 2008. Last year, only 4% of my total sales that were digital or burn-on-demand were in regular CDs, but it was 84% in tracks. Overall from 2008 to 2009, I saw just a slight increase in digital track sales, just about 3%. Full CD sales, burning complete discs, had over a 500% increase, so I am seeing a huge increase in digital sales in the way of full CDs. ... That's just coming into its own here in our store.

Harrison: I don't have sales broken up into categories, but I do know that 18% of our music sales in 2009 were burn-on-demand.

Christian Retailing: What are you doing to increase music sales?

Williams: The on-hand stuff we still carry on the shelf. We are trying to be more aggressive about getting new releases and best-sellers really right up front and away from the music section. We have one of those little roll-around mobile carts and I am trying to bring more attention to that.

But really we're seeing a much faster increase in digital. We added a second listening station last year, and a second myMEDIA BurnBar system and put it up front, and we're trying to get every customer that has any interest in music at least in front of it. We're finding that once people really understand the capabilities of the digital stuff, they are really impressed.

Myrick: We have found that it's very important when a customer walks into the music department to introduce them to the (burning) program—take them over, sit them down, let them know what to do. We have three listening centers. People come in now—some of them will stay for hours. We had a man a Saturday or two ago that burned 24 CDs.

There is a learning curve. They do have to learn what you have and how it works. Once they realize how easy it is to use, they're just blown away that they can sit there and listen and pick out music that they would have never heard maybe before.

Harrison: The fact that we have listening stations for customers to listen to CDs helps the sales. We have two burn-on-demand systems, and on one of those, we do have stools because, as Charlotte mentioned, especially if they are doing accompaniment tracks, people can spend several hours looking through the songs to pick what they want.

Myrick: We have tables set up, with two listening centers on one and another kind of listening center for other things. We have chairs there.

Christian Retailing: How have sales been this year?

Myrick: March is not necessarily a huge month because most people have already bought Easter things and whatever earlier, but we burned about 220 tracks.

Williams: We are seeing the same results this year. Compared to last year's first quarter, this year's digital, full CD sales were up 674% and our track sales were up 55%. There was a learning curve—people getting used to (it). We moved one of the listening stations away from the music department and actually put it in a different area of the store, and that has stimulated some additional sales because it's in an area not directly related to music.

Harrison: In January, burn-on-demand CDs, most of them probably accompaniment tracks, were up 38% from 2009. CD sales have been consistent, too, for us. We promote supplier promos for the regular album CDs—free CD with purchase. We also feature a CD sale rack for the albums that we have in stock.

Christian Retailing: How are customers adapting to in-store digital buying?

Williams: Word-of-mouth is really starting to kick in for us. We are into our third year now, but it has just taken awhile to get the public to understand what it's about and really look to it. The presentation, the software, the whole processes have improved greatly over the last two years—I think it's much more user-friendly and you can produce your end product much more quickly than when the system first came out.

Myrick: I think teens and young adults just know exactly what to do. It's your choir directors and folks that are a little older that are not that into this type of media. But once they learn how to use it, they're wild about it. But you do have to introduce it to them, and so my employees have been instructed: You take them over there, you sit them down, you show them how simple it is and from then on you don't have to do a thing. They just go straight to the chairs and sit down and start listening. The middle to older adults you have to introduce them to it a little more.

Christian Retailing: What do you see in the future?

Williams: About midyear in 2009, we cut the number of CDs that we carry in the store in half, and I'm looking to do that again. We just keep pushing that inventory down—with the (burn) system, as up-to-date as it is, many times new releases are available to be burned on the same day they are available on the street.

One of the biggest things I'm hoping is that we are able to put music directly to MP3 players or memory sticks. That's going to be the next step in the process, where you don't actually have to burn it to a CD. Th e younger crowd, all of them carry MP3 players. They have them in their pockets when they come into the store, and I think that would be another advantage to where we could just load it directly to their MP3 player and cut out the cost of the burning and the jewel cases and stuff.

Myrick: It is moving and changing so fast it's hard for me to keep up with, because I'm from an older generation. Trying to keep up with the changes is mind-boggling sometimes, it really is. Just by the time you get everything set up, it changes again and then you have to do it a different way.

Christian Retailing: What advice would you give to retailers struggling with their music sales?

Williams: If you don't have digital, you need to get it in the door. Try to understand where the market is for your location. We are selling more and more accompaniment tracks. Somebody said that we live in a society of instant gratification. You really have to promote that to your customers, that we've got 10,000 accompaniment tracks that you can take home with you today. ... You really have to keep that in front of your customers. The buying public is interested in that immediate satisfaction, and we need to make sure they are getting that in our stores and not going to an online place to get the same thing.

Harrison: You do need to get the burn-on-demand. Customers appreciate being able to find (something) and get it right then and there rather than special-ordering it. Accompaniment tracks are something you might need immediately for a funeral and to be able to do it right there. I agree that the future is probably downloading directly to MP3 players.

Christian Retailing: How can suppliers help?

Myrick: Since the music industry is hurting so badly right now, it would be wonderful if they would come on with us and say, "We will give you incentives because you are selling our music without it having to ship, without a warehouse." Give us a better discount to move this music, so we can say, "If you come into our store and you burn it, you can get it for a little less than going online." If they would help us promote it and let us offer a better prices, it would probably increase their sales tremendously and they wouldn't have to keep the inventory. It costs a lot of money to warehouse all that stuff, so cut the warehousing and give us a better deal.

Williams: From one of the publishers, we are not seeing the new releases become available on the burn system until significantly after they are available on the shelf. I haven't been able to figure out why it's not to their advantage to be in place. The distributors, the publishers need to support this effort through making sure everything is available as quickly as possible on the release date.

I can envision in another two or three years when very few people are going to have hard CDs on the shelf, with the exception of some of the genres like Southern gospel. It's kind of frustrating to have customers come in and have tell them one new release we can burn today, but not another. Trying to explain that to the customer is a challenge, but I think the industry as a whole needs to climb onto this on-demand stuff.

A chain's new look centers on providing the right kind of customer atmosphere

While Christian retailers are being encouraged to diversify in the face of ongoing competition from other channels, broadening their product mix, some are finding that a re-commitment to their core is paying dividends.

Although Mardel Christian & Education's teacher supplies and its inspirational gifts are significant factors in its continued success, the quiet makeover that has been revitalizing the regional chain has books and Bibles squarely as its centerpiece.

With 34 stores in six states, Mardel's growth has not been slowed by the economic downturn and newcomers—like the recently opened location in Corpus Christi, Texas—are based on the new-look store first introduced a couple of years ago.

Since then, several older locations have been retrofitted along the new lines, with aspects of the changes in style and merchandising also incorporated into older stores where a full makeover is not possible for one reason or another.

The Mardel makeover is based on a potpourri of sources, from internal meetings among leadership and staff to discussions with customers and focus groups, conversations with visiting supplier reps, lessons from visits to other retailers—from high-end names to small-town convenience stores—and even a phone call from one store's restroom.

Some were surprised when the chain embarked on such a major project as the economy started to dip. But "retailers have to embrace change when the opportunity arises," said Jason Green, chain president.

"One of the biggest mistakes retailers make is that they wait until they are successful to say, 'OK now we can change this,' because what ends up happening is you then become a victim of your own success and become hesitant to change—and are unable or unwilling to when the time comes."

A car enthusiast who often uses auto analogies to illustrate business points, he added: "Last year's best car manufacturer is still last year's model. ... One reason we struggle a lot as Christian retailers is we don't give people a compelling reason to come visit us. We are not entitled to their business. We have to earn their business just like everyone else."

To show how Mardel has been endeavoring to do that, Green recently walked Christian Retailing through one of his new-look, Dallas-area stores, opening the doors to share some of the chain's successful ideas and changes with others.

FRESH STYLE

The differences start in the parking lot. Gone is the old-style cartoony Mardel's logo that greeted shoppers as they walked up. Dating back to the 1980s—an era in which many Christian retailers are still stuck, style-wise—its place has been taken by a bolder, more contemporary sign whose look and feel is carried through inside.

Inside the lobby, before customers enter the store proper, they pass showcase windows in either side of the entrance. "Previously this was just where we parked our shopping carts," Green said. But he and others realized "we have great product that we want people to see as they walk in—kind of slow them down and catch their attention, set their pace and the tone of the store.

"If you've read Paco Underhill's Why We Buy, he talks about the transition space as you walk into a store and how that sets the atmosphere. We want people to tell us they feel like our store is peaceful and it's a place they want to come just to be there, so let's start that from the entrance."

The displays are changed at least seasonally, sometimes monthly and at least refreshed weekly. "The same product might be out there, but they'll move it around," Green said.

Head office determines themes and perhaps some key products for the displays, but most of the actual content is left to the local teams: "We want them to give it their local flavor," he said.

Noticeably absent in the entrance are any big sale or special-offer signs—a decision that is echoed inside the store.

"We have a policy for clutter reduction in the store, so you won't see as many overhead banners or signs to draw attention," said Green. "We feel that at some point it becomes annoying. … You go into some secular stores and you see sale, sale, sale. At the very least, you become numb to it. If everything is on sale, nothing is on sale."

The first obvious change inside the store is under foot. It's a high-end ceramic tile, "a little more expensive than we were putting down, but its life expectancy and the maintenance costs over time are actually less," said Green. The other option requires stripping and cleaning "and it gets damaged easily, so over the life of the store, it works out about the same for total investment."

Also immediately striking is that reading is central. Special offers and promotions, including gifts, are featured at the front of the store, but "we don't do it at the yell-and-scream-at-you level."

Beyond the new-release displays up front, books and Bibles are the main focus. Actual SKUs have not changed much, just the emphasis and display—a combination of revised layout and different fixtures.

"One of the main things we have done is change the style and look of the fixtures," said Green, "to bring the openness and height down." In came "darker and richer tones, away from the grays. We used warmer hues and neutrals."

The lower displays "mean we can stair-step, and it's not just one big flat surface," he said. "It gives dimension without being overpowering. It allows us to merchandise our product better.'"

Reducing the height of fixtures also means that customers can now see all the way to the back of the store. "We noticed that even in places like Wal-Mart, Target, they are lowering the shelves. In our existing stores, the counter heights were 7 feet tall, so that made the store feel smaller and made visibility poor. All the neat stuff we had back in the store, you really didn't see."

As well as making the store feel more "open," the new display heights have helped with customer service. "You can see where the customers are," said Green. "If the counter is 7 feet, you can be on the other side and not even know they are there. Now we can see all of the people in the store and it helps us find them and know where we need to go to help them."

BIBLE FEATURES

The reconfiguration means that books are central to the store, with the educational products that used to be there switched to the right-hand side. The books are anchored by a customer-service desk in the center of the store, with Bibles along the rear wall. Cherry-wood shelving lends a library feel to the area, with study stations where customers can open up copies of the 1,000 Bible products to try them.

"We want them to take the Bible and compare it, feel it, hold it in their hand, compare to different translations. We encourage them to look through them. We want customers to have the right translation, the right tool because the worst thing a person can have is the life-changing Word of God, but then they are confused when they read it or try to study or learn," Green said.

"That is why we have the selection we have and multiple translations, and we want our staff to engage with the customer to find the right Bible. We want someone to walk out purchasing a Bible that they are going to read. It doesn't do any good for it to sit on the shelf."

The children's department adjoins books and Bibles, to the right—moving from its former position at the front of the store. Shelving is even lower in the children's area than in the height-reduced rest of the store. "Nothing over 5 foot tall, so you don't have to reach to grab a book. Games and toys are down where kids can get to them or they can play with them."

The footprint for the music department has been shrunk some, but the category is still a significant one. "There have always changes in the format and delivery of music," said Green. "We went from LPs to 8-tracks to cassettes to compact discs. … But the desire for music is still there.

"The industry has declined in CD sales, but we still have people come in and this is how they discover music," he said.

When someone becomes a Christian, their taste in music may not change, but their choice of lyrical content may, Green observed. "So what that does is open up a huge backlist for Christian retailers."

While keeping a strong music inventory, Mardel has reduced the space it takes up. "We used to have a large wall dedicated to what's hot and what's new, and we decided that it was no drawing people in as it used to, so we created a different fixture for our new music and our hot music that is in the front of the department."

Some of the saved space has gone to an expanded apparel area—which includes an unlikely feature for many Christian stores: a fitting room. "We have always done your classic Christian T-shirts, and we still do phenomenal business with those," said Green. "But we have customers who like the higher-end shirts, hoodies, things like that."

As the chain scaled back on music, Green and others realized shoppers "would come in wearing Abercrombie & Fitch—and if they were wearing these shirts, we knew that they were willing to spend money for a fashion statement." So why not one that mirrored their faith, the Mardel team agreed, introducing some of the new Christian apparel lines. And "if we are going to sell nice apparel we need nice apparel racks."

The fitting room was added because "for most people a large T-shirt is a large T-shirt is a large T-shirt, and there is not a whole lot of variation. But when you get into some of the other styles, especially the women's tops and blouses, they fit differently and people just need to try them on—and they want to put a look together. They don't want to feel hurried, just pulling together things over their head in the aisle."

SERVICE FOCUS

Though the store has casual seating where shoppers can relax and browse, there is no free WiFi, and the one-time coffee shop sections have been largely done away with. There is now just one table at the front near self-service where free coffee—a special Mardel roast that can be bought—is available.

"We did the espressos and all that," said Green. "We realized that we are better at selling books than we are at selling coffee. Obviously, too, with the advent of Starbucks and places like that, we just let them be great at what they do," he added. "We want customers to linger, but we would rather them linger throughout the store rather than parking in one spot and staying there the whole time."

Similar thinking, in addition to security concerns, was behind the no-Internet decision. "We just found with our customers that was not what they really expected from us. Their 'third place,' they had … so let's do what they want us to do while they are here, which is provide a great assortment of books."

Part of that book commitment includes a significant and sophisticated bargain program, which sees remainder and discount items color-coded and progressively marked down week by week—enticing return customers. The titles are displayed randomly on bargain shelves and also featured in among the regularly priced books.

"We found that if we kept them all in one place, yes, we sell them, but we can also sell additional ones when we have them on the way to other things," Green said.

Gifts continue to be a strong category, located to the left of the store. Seasonal displays front and center are mixed with everyday items that are applicable. "It makes the flow into the gift department," Green said, who noted how lower and more open display fixtures had helped in this part of the store, too. "Because of the layout in our existing stores, in some cases we had seasonal in one area and gifts in another, and we felt like we were meant to do a better job to get the customer to see everything."

Throughout the store, signage is "warmer and less yellows" and "sale, sale, sale." We want people to see the price and the value, but we want the product and display to catch their attention too, not be overpowered by a loud sign. You see a lot of that in the nicer furniture stores that are moving away from the way from the sale kind of signage to, 'Look at this recliner and here's the price on it.' "

The cautious approach to signage extends to supplier materials. Cardboard displayers and vendor racks are extremely limited. "They have to be approved, and we are very selective. No folding tables or temporary displays."

Instead, Mardel shows suppliers how it intends to display product "and they appreciate that. At Christmas time, for example, we won't bring in the cardboard, box-card displayers, but we will give the product prominent presentation on some of our permanent nice fixtures. We are giving them presentation, but we believe that on our fixture, it is a better look and a better feel."

That better look and feel even extends to the restrooms, which feature the same quality flooring as the rest of the store. Green followed the lead of another business, whose restrooms he heard being praised, and sent one of his team to check them out and call from inside to say what he found.

Since the Mardel restrooms have been upgraded, "we had one store (manager) complaining that people come in to use the restroom and leave," he recalled. "If that gets someone into the store, praise God. Let's make sure once they are there, we keep them."

'From a products focus to an experience'

A veteran independent's new look sees sales rise

Longtime champion of independents Steve Potratz has seen new life breathed into his own business following a relocation forced on him by rising costs and a disaster.

The California retailer and founder of the Parable marketing and franchise group has been able to implement long-desired changes since consolidating operations in a new 4,600-square-foot location in San Luis Obispo.

It replaces a smaller, long-standing location in the city's prime tourist downtown area where the already pricey rent was set to be increased by 30% and a second store in Atascadero that was destroyed by a flood in July 2009.

"We've been able to implement principles we have taught, but been unable to do (until now) because of the size of our previous stores," Potratz told Christian Retailing, sharing details of the changes to offer encouragement and ideas to other independents.

Central to the new store—which is spacious compared to the former 2,660 and 3,300 square feet at the San Luis Obispo and Atascadero locations, respectively—are wider aisles and a concrete "power aisle" that sweeps round to the right from the store entrance, with shoppers stepping off it into wooden-floored and carpeted sections.

The extra space has also given Potratz more room to feature products. "There have been no major changes in what we carry," he said, "but there have been major changes in how it's displayed."

Books are at the center of the store with other departments around the perimeter, and while the reading inventory has not increased, its presence has. "We were always were a strong bookstore," Potratz said, but now the display ratio is two spines for each face-out title, instead of five spines.

Also getting a greater focus is the Bible department. Potratz has developed a hybrid system that combines Zondervan's translation-based approach to merchandising with Thomas Nelson's felt-needs system, which advocates focusing on the intended use of the Bible before getting down to options and versions.

The Bible section includes a table and area where shoppers can sit down and get their hands on the different editions that are available. "We really wanted to elevate the category," Potratz explained. The emphasis is "something that gives us a very unique selling proposition compared to Barnes & Noble or anybody else."

There is other seating in the store, too, and free WiFi, though no coffee—with Starbucks as a neighbor, Potratz doesn't need to invest in that service himself … just enjoy the benefits of the extra traffic.

The various changes have produced great results. Overall sales have been up around 40%, with the first full month of book receipts up 50% and children's revenues increasing 198% over the former stores.

"Sales overall are way up," said Potratz. "The surprise has been in books. We have always been a strong bookstore. I never expected the major increases in book sales that we are experiencing."

The business has been named the new model store for the Parable group, with plans to pass on lessons to franchise stores in monthly Webinars.

"The point is that we are trying a number of changes that are producing great results," said Potratz. "The reason people shop our store has completely changed from a products focus to an experience. … Stores can make minor changes without spending a lot of money and produce big results, if those changes are focused on the consumer experience."

Part of that has involved attention to small details, like lights and sound. Potratz uses "warm lighting that makes the store feel very welcoming and brings out the color in products," with brighter lights in some feature sections. Background music is selected carefully "so you are reproducing a sense of Sunday morning worship."

'Retweeting' is rewriting retail marketing

Anyone who has not heard of social media must have spent the last couple of years stranded on a desert island, limited to throwing out a message in a bottle and hoping that someone might find it some day.

Such one-way, shot-in-the-dark communication is a far cry from the instant, global reach of texting and online posting that has been revolutionizing the way people interact—and do business.

Social media—blogs, message boards, social networks like Facebook and Linked In and platforms like Twitter, also known as consumer-generated media (CGM)—continues to grow. Traffic to Facebook is up almost 200% in the last year, while Twitter has seen an increase of almost 1,500%.

Social media is no longer just for "techies" or the younger generation—it has become a mainstream phenomenon. Though in September 2009, 73% of teens were using a social networking Web site, according to one study, and so were 47% of online adults—and the fastest-growing Facebook demographic was women aged 55 and above.

Compared to a year ago, not only are more people visiting these sites, but they are also spending more time there—time spent per person is up 67% over 2009.

"Social media is not the next big thing—it is the big thing," said Gunnar Simonsen, former general manager of the Christian Supply Centers in the Pacific Northwest and now a social media consultant. "From a business perspective, if people are going in a different direction than you, you are going to miss out on an opportunity."

Simonsen has helped CBA take an active role in educating retailers on social media. Along with the association's business development director, Eric Grimm, he hosted two Webinars on the topic in May.

The hour-long "Social Media for Today's Business Webinar" featured topics including "How to Make Money Using the Technology," "Communicating Through Social Media Tools," "Why Use Social Media?" and "How to Gauge its Success."

CBA is also turning attention to social media at its International Christian Retail Show in St. Louis, June 27-30. "New Marketing: Using Social Media to Market Your Store" is one of the workshops, with a second targeted to church-based operations, "Using Social Media to Market Your Church Store."

"Relationships you build with customers in your store have an impact outside the store, and social media can help develop a '5:01 p.m. strategy' for how you are going to be sustainable to them when they leave your store or event," Simonsen said.

CONSUMER CONNECTION

Just as consumers now expect businesses to have a Web site, "the ability to provide customers with an outlet for their passions, their need for information and transformation, the need to feel connected in an increasingly alienated world also will become more important," Grimm said. "It will mean that what happens in the store will be more important, as relationship and experience will add value that online transactions can't."

More than 1.5 million local businesses have Facebook fan pages that allow them to interact with customers—and some Christian retailers are reporting success with their attempts.

When Kira Brant, owner of Kira's Cottage Christian Store in Franklin, Ind., was planning a move to a new location and deciding how to use the available space, she posted a question on Facebook asking what customers would like to see more of in her store.

"I got great response," Brant said. "The main request was a larger kids' area, so we dedicated more space to the department, added a play area and a mural."

While Brant maintains a Web site, blog and Twitter account, she said it's her daily Facebook posts that have drawn the most customers in-store.

"The key to Facebook is getting as many fans as you can," she said. "People are more likely to recommend you to "friend" something if they know they can win." So for every 100 new fans, Brant holds a drawing for $20 in merchandise. A member of the Munce Group, she also networks with stores on Facebook by friending them and sharing information on what has been successful and what has not.

A Virginia store has found another way to use Facebook. Through postings on the site, Capstone Christian Store in Mechanicsville offers a bonus for people who can prove that they've been to church—bring a bulletin into the store and get 20% off of a purchase.

Facebook posts from His Place Christian Bookstore in Wellsburg, W.Va., come from Buster—the store's American mastiff mascot who greets customers daily in the store. The furry friend of store owner Cinda Rogerson is named as the customer service/complaint department associate who posts a daily saying, such as "Prayer should be our first response, not our last resort."

Rogerson, who was tired of paying a company 15% of her profits to host a Web site that she had difficulty accessing, has replaced it with Facebook. "This is a free alternative and something I can do myself," she said. "The draw for us is that is makes it personal. I recently had to close the store for a day to accompany my daughter for a surgery. I was able to request prayer knowing that a core group would be willing to pray."

Some 80% of companies use social media for recruitment. His Place is also among some 80% of businesses that use social media for recruitment. The store recently posted a part-time opening on Facebook, while the C28 apparel chain regularly posts staff needs on Twitter.

UNPLANNED OPPPORTUNITIES

Success with social media can come unexpectedly, as with the viral YouTube sensation known as "David After Dentist," which exploded not as the result of some grand marketing scheme, but due to a fluke.

David DeVore filmed his son David's humorous, medication-induced trip home from the dentist following a tooth extraction for mom Tessie, who missed the appointment because of a meeting at Strang Communications, where she is book group vice president.

In January 2009, three days after the video was posted on YouTube for other family members to see, the video had gained more than 3 million views—with nearly 60 million to date, making it the second most-watched YouTube video of last year and a 2010 nomination for a Webby Award in the viral category.

Despite suffering criticism from some who claimed exploitation of young David, Tessie DeVore said it had been "worth it a million times over. All viral news is good news." She added: "Anytime anything controversial takes place, we notice a spike in attention."

When the DeVores began to figure out how to monetize online content, David left his real estate job to start a Web site selling merchandise like T-shirts and stickers. Profits from the online merchandise, paired with licensing deals and an ad partnership with YouTube, have already paid for their son's college education as well as benefiting charities along the way.

"In our experience, it is all about partnerships and strategic alliances," said Tessie DeVore. "The name of the game is nonexclusive. You cannot tie yourself to one entity," she noted, adding that it was a grass-roots effort that propelled the video on blogs, Twitter, radio and TV.

Used correctly, she said, social media can help any business monitor trends quickly, engage readers or viewers in an unprecedented way and gauge content reaction a lot quicker. Just a few years ago, only customers with major complaints actually followed through to her company's customer's service department. "Today, with just a quick click of the keyboard, people's basic thoughts are public knowledge," she said.

Social media means rethinking traditional marketing approaches, being more relational and less informational. When Simonsen helped promote the Fire Bible at the Empowered21 event in Tulsa, in April, instead of sending Twitter messages that said, "Come to our booth and buy," he used a softer approach with messages and photos capturing the conference's events and "retweeting" what others were doing.

"We got more play because we were active in community," he said. "It wasn't just about us. The Fire Bible was on people's minds, but they weren't sick and tired of it by the end of the week. The less it is about us, the more it becomes about us."

The end results: They reached 9,100 people in two and a half days of tweeting.

BUILDING COMMUNITY

Mardel began hosting Pictionary Friday events at its Web site in February, using Ustream technology that allowed viewers to chat online with Darrell Darnell, Mardel's e-commerce director, while he draws on a whiteboard.

The 50 or so people who gather weekly in the virtual room are part of Mardel's efforts to socialize and build an online community. As people are logging in, Darnell takes the opportunity to share product that will be given away to the winners.

"My philosophy is that we are a Christian bookstore, and everything that we sell should be something that we believe in or (can) change people's lives," Darnell said. "Our hope is that if they don't win it, they'll see the significance and buy it anyway, either now or in the future."

Vendors like Zondervan and Tyndale House Publishers who have caught the vision give credit to Mardel for the product that is given away and in return have their company name mentioned during the live event.

Mardel's social media has spiked, with Facebook fans doubling to 5,000 since the Pictionary Friday launch and Twitter hitting 1,000 followers. To keep up with the interest, Mardel has one staff member who spends at least part of her day updating the chain's social media.

Apparel maker Kerusso has taken the approach that social media is a tool that helps build its brand and extend its message, as well as offering opportunities to partner with publishers for campaigns and contests.

When the operator of a Crazy Love Facebook fan page announced its second annual "selfless love week" based on teachings from Francis Chan's book, winners received Kerusso's Crazy Love T-shirt and a copy of Chan's new book, Forgotten God from David C. Cook.

Chris Rainey, vice president of marketing for Kerusso, said the business results spoke volumes: "It cost us five T-shirts and 20 minutes of my time to make contact and do the status updates on our Facebook page to gain a few hundred fans, increase traffic and fulfill our mission."

But it is important that businesses don't just see social media as an advertising medium. "That is not what the customers want, and they can unfriend you very easily if you do that," said Brian Hill, owner of Lighthouse Christian Supply in Dublin, Calif. "It is a way for us to build loyalty and let our customers see who we are by focusing on two-way communication."

Following up on the success of previous random holiday promotions, Hill decided to have fun with National Chicken Dance Day on May 14 by giving away an iPad to the best chicken dancer and 25% off one item for anyone who attempted the dance.

Those who came into the store May 14 had their dance videotaped and uploaded to the store's Web site, where people voted for their favorite. The top five were invited back to the store for a dance-off, broadcast live.

"It feels like being thrown in the deep end of the pool to learn to swim," Hill said of social media. "It came so fast, and if you are in it, you have to be in it all the way and learn as you go. I feel like right now I'm keeping my head above water in the social-media pool, but just barely."

MAINTAINING BALANCE

Social media should be seen as a part of the overall marketing mix, not the entire part, Hill warned. "It can't replace catalogs and postcards and print mail because it isn't meant to," he said. "Sure, for a one-day event I may get better results when (the numbers are) broken down than with a catalog, but I can't do a social-media coupon every day. I'd lose fans really quick."

As an example, for actor Chuck Norris' birthday, the store organized a Facebook promotion that gave customers a coupon for use in the store that day, if they submitted a fact about Norris. Ten coupons were redeemed. What the statistics don't reveal is that Hill didn't know it was Norris' birthday until hearing so on the radio on his way to work. With some quick thinking, a Facebook promotion that took five minutes to plan and zero dollars to implement brought 10 people into the store that day.

"Ten people may not sound like many, but considering it was a one-day event and an average day we see 100 people, that's a 10% increase in traffic," Hill said. "If I compare it to a catalog I send out that has a coupon good for one month and I have 200 coupons redeemed, it outperforms the catalog because the catalog brings in about seven or eight people per day."

The kind of agility Hill showed with his Norris promotion is a critical factor in the effective use of social media, he said. "I don't think social media is going away, but the sites may switch, and if people start moving from Facebook to something else, then we need to be on top of it and move with them."

He added: "While there is a learning curve to any new application the key is taking the lessons we learn in social media and applying those to whatever the latest app is."

Growing student numbers offer a boost to retailers

With the traditional retail lag in July and August, back-to-school season provides a welcome opportunity for retailers because of the growing number of people that it affects.

From pre-school to pre-med, huge numbers of people will be going back to the classroom this fall. State-funded pre-schools served more than 1 million children last year, and enrollment at colleges and universities is close to 12 million and rising, said market research firm IbisWorld Senior Industry Analyst Toon van Beeck—most likely because of unemployment. Enrollment at less expensive junior colleges, trade schools and online universities is also on the rise, particularly since student-loan financing is in short supply.

Although Christian stores may not be able to offer penny deals on school supplies like Staples across the street, there are things they can do to draw back-to-school traffic.

Teachable moment

When Lisa's Gift Wrappers moved six years ago to Royal Oak, Mich., owner Lisa Gleeson looked to attract people who might never have thought of visiting her gift-wrap supply store.

The store teamed with Operation Kid Equip to be a drop-off location for the local charity's school-supply and backpack program. Gleeson, whose mother was an educator, created a box and signage for the event, and with the help of the store's public relations coordinator, Melissa Bunker, sent a press release to media contacts and e-mail blasts to the store's client base. Those making a donation enjoyed lemonade and cookies and were given a small gift.

Now in the store's sixth year of involvement with the charity, Bunker said it has become a teachable moment to engage kids in the effort. "We showed our community that although we aren't a school-supply store, we want to help when there is a need," she said. "Our schools are hurting, and teachers often pay out of their own pockets for school supplies."

Steve Chusmir, sales representative for The Rep Connection covering 25 gift companies in the Southeast, said it is important to do whatever it takes to get people into your store so they can be exposed to what you actually sell.

One opportunity Chusmir highlighted is the new, wildly popular, shaped rubber wristbands worn by preschoolers though high schoolers. The fad is proving to be as big as Beanie Babies 10 years ago or Webkinz five years ago.

InVision—one of three suppliers Chusmir represents—has been receiving daily orders between $400 and $2,500 for the glow-in-the-dark, themed "Crazy Bands."

"At $5 retail a package, Christian stores should be carrying all of them, not just the faith-based ones," Chushir said. "It gets people into your store to buy bands and while there, they can see that you sell Bibles and other Christian products. The key is to get people in stores and we haven't had people in stores for last 18 months."

'Homeschool explosion'

The growing homeschool market is something stores should not overlook, experts say.

Christian school founder Pat Holt, formerly a public school administrator, said the recession coupled with Christian parents' wanting to have more input in their children's education has meant the shrinking of Christian schools and the "explosion" of the homeschool market.

"Homeschool in the last 10 years has become so well organized that they don't need Christian schools," Holt said.

There are now 6 million homeschooled kids in the U.S., Holt said, and that number is growing—as evidenced by the MidWest Homeschool Convention in Cincinnati, which attracted 6,000 attendees in 2009 and more than 13,000 this year.

'Trendy designs'

Several grass-roots movements and organizations are providing opportunities for stores to partner with them in promoting their causes.

Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity, has teamed with Monvee, an online software tool that offers customized spiritual-growth plans as part of a comprehensive spiritual-formation program. In 2010, best-selling author and company spokesman John Ortberg will speak at several key events when Monvee (www.monvee.com) and Soles4Souls (www.giveshoes.org) take their message on tour to Christian colleges and conferences.

In response to popular demand, Bob Siemon Designs is introducing 12 new items in its popular "True Love Waits" collection, launched in 1993. The company is adding four each of girls' rings, guys' rings and pendants. Each piece serves as a reminder to the wearer to live a pure lifestyle and comes with a purity commitment card that ties into LifeWay's True Love Waits ministry at www.truelovewaits.com.

Wear It Wednesday is a grass-roots movement that encourages Christian youth to show the joy of their faith. It was the idea of college senior Chelsea Eubank, who had launched an effort to register more than 1 million students at www.wearitwednesday.com, making a commitment to wear their favorite Christian shirt every Wednesday.

Back-to-school products

Two new Kerusso (www.kerusso.com) messenger bags are available, retailing for $24.99. Each of the designs features a bold message, an adjustable strap and rubber handle, a padded inner pocket, side pocket and large pouch. Also available are new backpacks suitable for school, sports or both. With a bold message, padded adjustable straps, heavy zippers and side pouches, they are available in two designs and retail for $19.99 each.

In conjunction with the movie To Save a Life, Bob Siemon Designs (www.bobsiemondesigns.com) has created three pewter products to serve as a reminder that as Christians, teens are never alone. A keyring, pendant and bracelet all feature Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost." The movie (www.tosavealifemovie.com) is a story about redemption and the difficult issues teens face.

Hold That Thought (www.httinspirations.com) offers 10 artwork decks, each with 12 positive/scripture thoughts to change out each month. For memorization and encouragement, the products are designed for lockers, bedrooms and college dorms. The artwork decks, for school age through college, are: Girls, God Speaks to Young Women, The Making of a Man, God's Word for Young Men and Words of Wisdom. Suggested retail prices range from $16 for a desk frame to $20 for an easel frame.

Gregg Gift Company's (www.gregggiftcompany.com) "Bright Blessings" are iron-on patches to use on covers, backpacks, jeans, jackets, T-shirts and notebooks. They retail for $2.99 each, and a revolving counter display is available.

Based on the best-selling Jesus Calling adult edition, Jesus Calling: 365 Devotionals for Kids by Sarah Young ($14.99, September) helps kids and tweens know they can have a close relationship with Jesus. The Tommy Nelson hardcover book will be promoted on key children's Web sites and to mom bloggers.

For more new back-to-school products as well as new CDs, DVDs and more, visit the Product News listings on our Web site, www.christianretailing.com.

Relationship classics are getting a fresh look, while the category's new voices are 'edgier' celebrate the union of man and wife

It is clear from the headlines and the best-seller lists that marriage resources remain a much-needed category.

Separations and divorces among high-profile Christian couples are becoming more and more common. Nor is the trend restricted to leaders.

According to a 2008 study by The Barna Group, born-again Christians who are not evangelical were indistinguishable from the national average on the matter of divorce, with 33% having married and divorced at least once.

Among all born-again Christians, which includes evangelicals, the divorce figure was 32%—statistically identical to the 33% figure among non-born again adults, the research group noted.

"There no longer seems to be much of a stigma attached to divorce; it is now seen as an unavoidable rite of passage," said George Barna, who directed the study.

"There is also evidence that many young people are moving toward embracing the idea of serial marriage," he added, "in which a person gets married two or three times, seeking a different partner for each phase of their adult life."

Clearly, Christians don't have marriage figured out. But there is evidence that many are not throwing in the towel, but are desperately looking for help in relating to their mate.

For marriage and relationship titles regularly figure high in the best-seller charts from CBA and the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association.

More than 18 months after its theater opening and a year after its DVD release, Fireproof sits securely on the Christian DVDs' best-sellers list. The Love Dave, B&H Publishing Group's spinoff had three formats on CBA's April Top 50 best-sellers list. A gift-boxed, leather marriage edition released the same month.

Other well-known voices continue to generate new resources on the topic. Eighteen years after Gary's Chapman's The 5 Love Languages (Northfield Publishing) released, a DVD on the subject arrived in May.

Chapman references some of the principles of his best-seller in Things I Wish I'd Known Before We Got Married, to be released in September by Northfield Publishing, an imprint of Moody Publishers.

Meanwhile. Emerson Eggerichs' 2004 best-seller Love & Respect (Thomas Nelson)—a Christian Book Award and Christian Retailing Retailers Choice Awards winner—will be followed by a related devotional and gift book in early 2011.

Ten years after the publication of Stormie Omartian's The Power of a Praying Wife (Harvest House Publishers), it was re-released in 2007 with a new cover.

Kevin Leman has a new book, Have a New Husband by Sunday (Revell/Baker Publishing Group), recently released.

Having addressed men and women separately in Wild at Heart and Captivating, John and Stasi Eldredge put that knowledge together in the December 2009 release of the candid Love & War (Doubleday Religion).

Reviving the classics

Even as culture continues to drift away from marriage and commitment, some of the classics remain strong backlist titles.

"I think it's because they hit the mark," said Dan Rich, senior vice president and publisher of David C Cook. "They did it first, and no one else has been able to top it."

Instead of taking the old titles out of print and looking for new angles and authors, many publishers have chosen to update or repackage content with a more modern edge.

Willard Harley has sold more than 2 million copies of his classic His Needs, Her Needs. In February 2011, Revell will release a new edition of the book, 25 years since its original publication.

"Backlist marriage books like His Needs, Her Needs are based on principles that remain the same even as the times change," said Jennifer Leep, editorial director for Revell. "In Dr. Harley's case, his basic premise—that every person has emotional needs and that men and women tend to prioritize those needs differently—is still true. The context within which couples are applying those principles, however, certainly continues to shift.  And that's what drives us to go back and update a classic."

The new edition will include an updated look and content presented so it makes sense to a new generation. "Sometimes that involves changing the way a concept is explained or the example that's used to illustration a point," Leep said. "Sometimes it means reinforcing a principle that's at odds with a current cultural trend."

Harvest House has refreshed the cover for Norm Wright's Quiet Times for Couples devotional. Originally released 20 years ago, it has sold more than 500,000 copies. In January 2011 the book will be re-released with a new cover in paperback.

Chapman's The 5 Love Languages has been a successful test of revamping the tried and true for tech-oriented readers. For about $9, the book can be downloaded as an iPhone app from mFluent.

"When introducing new products or revitalizing older ones, it is crucial that marketing plans resonate with a younger audience, and in this day and age, those efforts absolutely must include a large digital presence," said Andy Peterson, senior creative director at Propeller Consulting. "Online resources, multimedia products and mobile applications such as the 5 Love Languages iPhone app are all critical components of well-received marketing aimed at younger demographics."

Since its December 2009 launch, more than 148,000 visitors have used the personal assessment at www.fivelovelanguages.com, which allows users to determine their love language in just 30 seconds.

The success can be attributed to two things, said Peterson, "our creation of an online widget that allows quick and simple viral sharing of the online test; and second, an updated, more youthful Web site for the brand."

Emerging voices

As some marriage experts begin to age and slow down in their writing, new voices have been slow to come on the scene.

"Publishers are always looking for fresh material on marriage, and similar core messages to Christians, but it is a crowded arena, and it is very difficult to find original thought and points of view, but I believe we (should) still look," Cook's Rich said, adding that pastors who do pre-marital counseling are a possible source for new material.

Unexpected voices come from avid Facebookers K. Jason and Kelli Krafsky whose Facebook and Your Marriage (Turn the Tide Resource Group) is a married user's guide to the popular online social network site, addressing issues such as: to friend or not friend ex-spouses, how much time is too much on Facebook and what information is acceptable to post.

The Krafskys seemed to stumble upon the widespread need for their message. In 2009, they posted several articles on their blog, including what became their most popular, "Is Facebook a Cyber-Threat to Your Marriage?"

"People shared stories of spouses leaving marriages for newly found 'soul mates' on Facebook, and mates neglecting family time spending countless hours playing games on Facebook," said Kelli Krafsky. "We even read about a husband who unfriended his wife because she asked too many questions about his Facebook activities."

Facebook and Your Marriage, designed to look like a series of threads in an online discussion board, also deals with issues like privacy and security. There is even a whole section devoted to romancing your spouse using the site.

FamilyLife is reviewing the book for a radio show, and it has caught the attention of Steve Watters, Focus on the Family marriage editor.

"It's both a new and relevant angle as well as an emerging voice," Watters said of the thirtysomething couple's title. "It's my sense that the next wave of younger voices on marriage will come from Xers, but it's only been recently that Xers like actor/writer Kirk Cameron and co-authors of The Love Dare Alex and Stephen Kendrick have earned the trust to be seen as mentor voices."

Another increasingly well-known marriage and family expert, due to her expanding role as co-host of the "Focus on the Family" daily and weekend broadcast, is Juli Slattery, a late-30s psychologist and author of Tyndale House Publishers' 2009 release No More Headaches: Enjoying Sex & Intimacy in Marriage.

"Having a young, female co-host on this highly respected broadcast is a wonderful way to reach a younger demographic who, like their parents before them, are seeking trusted counsel when it comes to intimacy issues," said Maggie Rowe, Tyndale publicist.

Between the covers

John and Anita Renfroe pushed the envelope in 2007 with Songs in the Key of Solomon (David C. Cook). Their January release, Duets, continued to raise eyebrows following a book trailer's bedroom scene that panned from a trail of clothes to a bed with a couple reading Duets, then kissing and placing the book on the nightstand before turning off the light.

Rich said Cook had a few dealers that didn't respond positively to the book, but very few. "I think believers, and book sellers, are becoming comfortable with the idea of married sexuality," he said.

Paul Wilkinson, avid book blogger and owner of Searchlight Books in Cobourg and Brockville, Ontario, recalls getting Duets and thinking it was a "little edgy," but not so much "that I thought it worth mentioning. In this marketplace, a lot of books are 'pushing the envelope.' "

He believes the problem lies in that many shoppers are ill-informed, and the result is that people read material that's targeted at a different audience.

"If seniors start reading Donald Miller or Rob Bell, they're going to be offended at some point. You can almost guarantee it," Wilkinson said. "Most Christian comedians like Anita are, by definition, 'edgy.' "

Jon Farrar, acquisitions director at Tyndale, said covers have come a long way.

"I'm seeing a trend in CBA with covers that allow images that suggest the content of the book. When Ed Wheat's book Intended for Pleasure—with 1 million copies sold and now in its fourth edition—came out in the 1970s, it had no image on the cover. Now Kevin Leman's Sheet Music, has an image that suggests what the author is discussing more."

Even tried-and-true experts are going a bit saucier.

"I think Christians have been looking for a sex guide for married couples that is wholesome for a long time," Farrar said. Gary Smalley's new September release, Great Parents, Lousy Lovers, is very timely, Farrar added, "many families are so centered around their children that their marriage relationship as husband and wife is becoming threatened."

Event-driven

Marriage conferences help drive sales because of attendees who want more of what they have just heard and are "motivated to obtain resources to help them make the changes that will improve, strengthen, even heal their marriage," said Janis Backing, publicist for Moody Publishers.

Fireproof actor Kirk Cameron and singer Warren Barfield recently collaborated on an eight-city event, running March through October, called Love Worth Fighting For.

Last year, Promise Keepers, which in the past was a strong driver of men's books, made a move to reinforce marriage by, for the first time, inviting attendees' wives to come to its lone 2009 conference.

Also for the first time in the organization's 20-year history, a woman was the keynote speaker. Aglow International's president and CEO Jane Hansen Hoyt encouraged unity in the faith. One couple even got married during the event.

Paul David Tripp's What Did You Expect? (Crossway) sprang from a conference—also called What Did you Expect?—which is popular with singles.

At conferences and Focus on the Family simulcasts, Gary Thomas, author of Sacred Marriage (Zondervan), which has sold 300,000 copies, speaks on what it means to have a sacred marriage.

Book sales are not exclusively tied to participation in the conference circuit, but it doesn't hurt either. "It's clear that personality and an author's speaking platform can be a major factor in helping to sell books," Revell's Leep said.

St. Louis show to offer practical help regarding digital technology and social media

Echoing the title of "Meet Me in St. Louis," the classic 1944 romantic musical film starring Judy Garland, CBA Executive Director Curtis Riskey is excited to gather with conventioneers in the city, the site of the association's summer show.

Marking its 61st anniversary and hosted in a Midwest location for the first time in years, the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) is being held June 27-30 at America's Center.

"We were in St. Louis in 1979, and had a strong turnout then," Riskey said. "Since most of the industry's store network is in the Midwest and the South, St. Louis should be a very attractive location because it's a more convenient to drive in, and we have secured housing concessions to make lodging and travel more affordable. The city's convention center was recently upgraded to create a positive event experience."

Like last year, the 2010 show runs from Sunday morning to Wednesday lunchtime. With 13 training tracks, CBA has nearly tripled the number of educational offerings—available for free to members.

"There is much to be learned at ICRS," said CBA Chair-elect George Thomsen. "Not just about new products, but much to learn about how our industry is changing, about how to be a better business person in a changing retail environment."

In addition to the free workshops, there is "a tremendous opportunity to engage in dialogue with others and to learn from them," added Thomsen, the manager of church-based The Harvest Store in Riverside, Calif., who takes over the chairmanship of the association in October. "Much of what I have learned about our industry was learned at ICRS and other trade shows."

Riskey said he wants to get conventioneers up to speed on the latest development and information on two hot subjects—digital technology and social media.

"We have two very important and timely themes emerging in our programs this year," he said. "One is creating industry dialogue on the role of Christian stores in a digital age. Many people have been talking about it, and the conversation has been going on for years because of the digital-music transition, but CBA is creating an action-oriented approach to ensure Christian stores are not left out of the technology loop, as occurred with digital music.

"Social media is also an important issue for retailers as consumers are using new communication technologies to connect with friends, families and favorite businesses," Riskey said. "Watch for information on Twitter meet-ups and Facebook games during ICRS."

Besides a General Session and workshops focusing on the role of stores in the digital age and retailers using social media, the show will spotlight bargain product suppliers in the new Bargain Boulevard section of the exhibit floor.

Also new this year is the Family Entertainment Theatre, which will offer attendees a convenient location where they can view movie screenings and learn about upcoming film and DVD projects. Elsewhere, the Debut Avenue section of the exhibit floor will feature new products by suppliers exhibiting at the show for the first time.

Meanwhile, the Marketsquare area of the exhibit floor will again be the central meeting place to conduct international business and rights negotiations at the convention.

"We expect more international buyers at Marketsquare because publishers have been communicating to European companies about ICRS and Marketsquare," Riskey said. "CBA and Christian Trade Association International (CTAI) have cooperated to reach out to Europeans and other internationals who couldn't make it to the London Book Fair."

In April, ash from an Iceland volcano shut down airspace across Europe for five days, causing the cancellation of more than 100,000 flights and travel disruptions for 10 million people, according to European aviation officials.

CBA and Christian Trade are expanding facilities and providing attendees inducements to help cover lost time and money from the incident, said CTAI Director Kim Pettit.

A sneak peak of the third movie in "The Chronicles of Narnia" film series will be offered at ICRS. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is due in theaters Dec. 10.

Saturday, June 26

Always a significant pre-show event, the two-hour Christy Awards reception will start at 7:30 p.m. at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel. Like last year, the 11th annual event will be presented at a dessert reception rather than the traditional banquet affair. Author Lisa Samson, a two-time Christy Award winner and seven-time nominee, will keynote the event.

The Christy Awards honors excellence in Christian fiction in nine categories, and is open to the public as well as to convention-goers. Reservations are available for $30 per person by contacting Donna Kehoe or click here.

Sunday, June 27

The first day of the show, the registration desk will be open 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Retail buyers will receive vouchers at registration, and the first 2,000 who redeem them will receive Buyers Bags filled with goodies and coupons.

Scheduled for 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m., the CTAI International Vision Celebration & Luncheon will feature Remi Morgan, pastor of Lagos Province 24 of The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Nigeria and operator of the largest Nigerian Christian products distributor. This is an opportunity to meet attendees from around the world and learn more about what God is doing in other nations.

In addition to workshops on using social media and navigating through today's increasingly digital environment, CBA will spotlight the subject with Digital/Mortar: Store Value in a Digital Age.

Running 3-4:30 p.m., the General Session will feature a panel—including EMI CMG Chief Marketing Officer and Senior Vice President David Crace; Mardel Christian & Education President Jason Green; Evangelical Christian Publishers Association President and CEO Mark Kuyper; Powell's Books Director of Web Stuff Darin Sennett; and Google Director of Strategic Partnerships Amanda Edmonds—discussing the role that stores will play as e-books and e-readers continue to gain popularity.

The Sunday evening service, Worship Him, 6-7:30 p.m., sees Randy Alcorn (Tyndale House Publishers) addressing the audience, while Jeremy Camp and The Museum (both EMI CMG) will lead attendees in worship.

Pacesetter will again be held Sunday, 7:30-9 p.m., featuring Phil Vischer (Tyndale House Publishers) and Fireproof Producer Stephen Kendrick (B&H Books/B&H Publishing Group). The Blackwood Brothers and Sisters (both Daywind Records) as well as Gold City (Provident-Integrity Distribution) will perform in a celebration of the 100th anniversary of Southern Gospel music. Pacesetter will also include the presentation of the CBA Spirit of Excellence Awards, recognizing the industry's most collaborative and innovative practices in the past year.

Monday, June 28

Registration runs from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The 30-minute Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony & Devotion starts at 8 a.m., marking the industry's 61st year with popular speaker and best-selling author Josh McDowell (Harvest House Publishers) addressing attendees to kick off the opening of the exhibit floor. Floor hours Monday will be 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

The Prospective Retailer Seminar, running 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m., shows ICRS attendees who are thinking about opening a store how to start a successful business, creating business plans, understand customers, have adequate capital and offer customers the best inventory assortment possible. When the two-day seminar ends, attendees will have the opportunity to meet with sponsoring suppliers to discuss their retail business.

Merchandising Workshop, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m., offers eight free merchandising demonstrations in the product categories apparel, fiction, fine art, gifts, jewelry, study Bibles, family entertainment and CBA channel exclusives. As with last year, the 30-minute demonstrations will be led by suppliers as they engage attendees in hands-on exercises for effective showcasing of the products. At press time, the schedule for the demonstrations was not finalized.

Running 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., the CBA Member Luncheon will feature information on this year's Christian retail channel exclusives that the trade association has developed with suppliers, and the winners of the CBA Spirit of Excellence Awards.

From 1:30-2:30 p.m, the workshop New Marketing: Using Social Media to Market Your Store will offer marketing tips for retailers to build an online community.

A General Session, Drill Down: Digital Solutions, also running 1:30-2:30 p.m., will feature a panel of industry leaders and digital experts to discuss the future of the Christian retail store in terms of today's increasingly digital environment.

The popular Children's Product Trends session, to be held 3-4:30 p.m. and led by Mary Manz Simon, will help retailers understand the latest trends and research in children's products in order to improve and grow this category in their store. Product samples will be provided, and retailers must be in attendance to receive them.

Simon has conducted a survey, available by clicking here, on children's resources. Retailers who complete the survey will receive a free copy of the results during her children's workshop.

All are invited to the Prayer for the Industry, to be held 5:30-6 p.m. Prayer will be led by Evergreen Press.

The exhibit floor has a soft close from 5:30-6 p.m.

Tuesday, June 29

A favorite of retailers, The Retailer Idea Exchange Breakfast runs 7-8:30 a.m. as store representatives share what is working in their stores and best practices.

Floor hours Tuesday will be 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. The Future of Christian Retail as Told by Your Customers, 8:30-9:30 a.m., will present the latest consumer data and research regarding shoppers' purchasing behavior.

Also 8:30-9:30 a.m., Church Store Specific: Using Social Media to Market Your Church Store will help church retailers to utilize social media to build a stronger community around their stores.

An additional Merchandising Workshop runs 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Church Store Specific: Aligning Church Leadership with Your Ministry, to be held 10-11 a.m., will offer church retailers tips on how they can bring church leadership on board with their stores.

Also in the 10 a.m. hour, Differentiate Your Store with Knowledgeable Frontliners will help retailers train their staff in customer-service disciplines and provide the latest product information from leading suppliers.

The Prospective Retailer Seminar continues Tuesday, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m.

Scheduled from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., the Heart of the Artist Luncheon, sponsored by the Gospel Music Association, will feature performances by Sanctus Real, Matthew West and Audrey Assad (all EMI CMG).

The exhibit floor has a soft close 5:30-6 p.m.

From 6-7:15 p.m., California pastor and best-selling author Francis Chan's Fear God film will premiere at the Roberts Orpheum Theatre, located one block from America's Center. The film is the first installment in the "Basic" DVD series from David C. Cook and Flannel.

Wednesday, June 30

On the last day of the show, participants can register from 7 a.m. to noon.

The exhibit floor opens at 8:30 a.m. and closes at 3 p.m.

Scheduled from 7-8:30 a.m., the Heart of the Author Breakfast will feature several authors, including Tosca Lee, Robin Caroll and James Rubart (all B&H Publishing Group); Lynn DeShazo, Eleanor Clark and Janet Ruth (WinePress Publishing); Frank Pastore (Tyndale House Publishers); and Brian Zahnd (Charisma House/Strang Book Group).

The workshop New Marketing: How to Reach Your Customers on a Shoestring Budget, 8:30-9:30 a.m., will show retailers how to implement low-budget techniques into their marketing plan.

Also in the 8:30 a.m. hour, Christian Store Day: It's Coming, Are You Prepared? promises to help draw more customers into Christian stores and strengthen retailers' presence in the community with the initiative effort, scheduled for Oct. 23. Christian Store Day is intended "to raise awareness and drive traffic to Christian retail," Riskey said, replicating the "great success" Record Store Days had in drawing consumers to music retailers.

More Merchandising Workshop sessions run 9-10:30 a.m. The last workshops of the day will also target niche areas. In the 10 a.m. hour, Surviving Tough Times: Bargain Book Strategies for Success will help retailers tap into bargain books to help drive traffic and sales.

Also at 10 a.m., Increasing Traffic & Sales Through Book Clubs will focus on increasing foot traffic and sales by offering retailers pointers on how to open their stores as meeting places for church and community groups.

For the final information from CBA on this year's International Christian Retail Show, click here.

For our reports from the show floor, follow Christian Retailing on Twitter. And to receive more detailed show news, sign up for our free e-newsletter, Christian Retailing Update, click here.

LOCAL MEDIA

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VISIT ME IN ST. LOUIS

ICRS host city has plenty of 'must-see options'

Nicknamed the "Gateway to the West" for its role in the westward expansion of the United States, St. Louis offers plenty to see and do for ICRS attendees.

The top must-see stop is the Gateway Arch, the iconic image of St. Louis that towers 630 feet over the Mississippi River. The city received its Gateway moniker in 1965 after the Arch was built as part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial.

Visitors can take a tram ride to the top, see a documentary and a giant-screen movie, visit the Lewis & Clark exhibit in the museum and shop at the nation's tallest man-made monument.

Within walking distance of the Gateway Arch, Citygarden is touted as an "artistic oasis" in the heart of downtown, blending lush plantings and internationally renowned sculpture on 2.9 acres. With no fences or gates and no admission fee, Citygarden is open year round.

One of the largest urban parks in the country, Forest Park is approximately 500 acres larger than New York City's Central Park. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, considered the greatest of the World's Fairs, drew more than 19 million visitors to Forest Park. Recently renovated, the park, which offers free admission, features the Art Museum, St. Louis Science Center, St. Louis Zoo, Jewel Box greenhouse, History Museum and The Muny theater as well as a 7.5-mile biking, jogging and skating path, skating rink and lakes.

Home to more than 22,805 exotic animals, many rare and endangered, the St. Louis Zoo features 800 species and is set in the hills, lakes and glades of Forest Park. Admission to the zoo is free, although there are fees for some attractions.

Also located in Forest Park, the St. Louis Science Center features 700-plus exhibits, the Omnimax Theater, planetarium and traveling exhibitions. There is no admission charge to the science center, but there are fees for some attractions.

Founded in 1859, the Missouri Botanical Garden is the nation's oldest botanical garden in continuous operation and a National Historic Landmark. A center for botanical research and science education, the garden offers 79 acres of horticultural display, including a 14-acre Japanese garden, Henry Shaw's original 1850 estate home and one of the world's largest collections of rare and endangered orchids.

Conventioneers can also visit the world-famous Budweiser Clydesdales at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery. The tour requires a considerable amount of walking with visits to areas both indoor and outdoor.

"Play ball!" will be heard during Major League Baseball action at Busch Stadium, home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the most successful National League franchise.

Visitors can cruise the Mississippi River on the Tom Sawyer or Becky Thatcher paddle wheelers. Gateway Arch Riverboats, located at the Gateway Arch Riverfront, offer one-hour cruises, dinner cruises and a two-hour moonlight cruise.

ICRS attendees can also take a tour of Joyce Meyer Ministries, headquartered in the Bible teacher and best-selling author's hometown of Fenton, Mo., a suburb of St. Louis.

Source: St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission. For more information, call 800-325-7962, or click here.

Abbey Press

Booth: 619

Abbott Hall

Booth: 1439

Affirm Films/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

Booth: Family Entertainment Theatre 3 and 4

New products: To Save a Life on DVD and Blu-ray.

African American Expressions

Booth: 735

AHAVA North America

Booth: 522

Alpha Omega/Bridgestone Multimedia Group

Booth: 2225

Alphabet Alley

Booth: 1507

Ambassador International

Booth: 2010

American Bible Society

Booth: 1911

AMG Publishers

Booth: 908

Specials/discounts: 52%, 60 days, free freight, 60 days net

Premiums: Free fireman's hat and sticker badge for kids; free copies of two new God & Country Press titles—Winning the Culture War and Death of a Christian Nation.

Special events: Free giveaways for firefighter promoting new book release.

New products: The Five Laws of Liberty, an examination of the biblical view of freedom.

Amity Printing Co.

Booth: 1641

Anchor Distributors/Whitaker House

Booths: 2309, 2404

Specials/discounts: Extra discounts on show orders.

Premiums: Receive a rolling tote bag free with qualifying order.

Special events: Numerous author signings each day.

Anchor Wallace Publishers

Booth: 1503

Artistic Manufacturing Corp.

Booth: 1919

Atlas Books

Booth: 1639

B&H Publishing Group

Booth: 2318

Specials/discounts: Visit the booth for show specials and discounts.

Special events: Book signings with Rob Morgan, Marian Jordan, Oliver North, William Boykin, John Aubrey Anderson, Jeff Struecker, Tosca Lee, Robin Carroll, James Rubart, Stephen & Alex Kendrick and Michael Catt.

Baker Publishing Group

Booth: 2005

Special events: Book signings with Judith Miller, Tamera Alexander, Julie Klassesn, Irene Hannon, Hayley and Michael DiMarco, Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey, Julie Lessman and more.

New products: City on Our Knees by TobyMac, The Thorn by Beverly Lewis, Choosing to SEE by Mary Beth Chapman and Have a New You by Friday by Kevin Leman.

Barbour Publishing

Booth: 2135

Specials/discounts: Show exclusive: Order any 50 assorted backlist units and receive a 50% discount, free freight and 60-day billing. My Utmost special: receive a 60% discount on any 24 assorted units of My Utmost for His Highest (excludes promotional editions). Solid case lot orders receive an extra 3% off. Bible Promise Book special: Receive a 60% discount on case lots of the best-selling Bible Promise Book.

Special events: Authors including Wanda E. Brunstetter, Mary Connealy, Kaye Dacus, Ronie Kendig, Nancy Mehl, Stephen M. Miller and MaryLu Tyndall will be signing books at the booth. Barbour also will be holding its third annual Fiction Cafe on Tuesday morning.

New products: Lydia's Charm by Wanda E. Brunstetter, and Playing With Purpose by Mike Yorkey, which chronicles the lives of quarterbacks Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy and Tim Tebow.

Bargain Books Wholesale

Booth: 2325

Bernardi Wood Art of Italy

Booth: 803

Bethany House Publishers

Booth: 2005

Bezaleel Gifts Co.

Booth: 329

Black Family Press

Booth: 1212

Blossom Bucket

Booth: 535

Bob Siemon Designs

Booth: 711

Premiums:Free giveaway to the first 500 visitors.

New products: See more than 100 new products, including the True Love Waits display and 12 new designs; “To Save a Life Collection”; “Songs of Worship Collection”; organic pendants, celebrating faith, love and friendship; and riveted leather Bible covers.

Book Depot

Booth: 2422

Booklog

Booth: 1223

Bookstore Manager Software

Booth: 1019

Bridge-Logos Foundation

Booth: 1811

Specials/discounts: Free freight with all show orders and 55% off all orders of 15-30 of any titles or 60% off any titles with an order of 31 or more.

Special events: Drawing for $1,000 worth of product Tuesday at 3 p.m., and giveaways Monday. Also Monday, Darek Isaacs, author of Dragons or Dinosaurs? Creation or Evolution? will have a book signing at 2 p.m.; on Tuesday, Paul Teske, author of Healing for Today will have a book signing at 11 a.m. and Mrs. Missouri 1997, Stacy Hord, author of A New Vision for Dating, will have a book signing at 2 p.m.

New products: Embezzlement; Smashing Through Death's Door; Homeland Security; Infusion; Healing for Today; Dragons or Dinosaurs? Creation or Evolution?, which coincides with a Cloud Ten Pictures documentary.

Brownlow Gifts

Booth: 918

Cactus Game Design

Booth: 419

Carpentree

Booth: 703

Carson Home Accents

Booth: 537

Casscom Media

Booth: 1339

Cathedral Art Metal

Booth: 602

Catholic Book Publishing Corp.

Booth: 1828

New products: Songs of Joy and Praise Piano Book for children playing the electric piano and singing along with 12 favorite songs.

Central South Distribution

Booth: 1528

Charis

Booth: 735

Premiums: Enter to win an iPad.

Christ for the Nations

Booth: 1829

Christian Art Gifts

Booth: 519

Christian Focus Publications

Booth: 1710

Specials/discounts: 50% and free freight

New products: From the Resurrection to His Return: Living Faithfully in the Last Days by D.A.Carson.

Christian Life Outreach

Booth: 2026

Christian Small Publishers Association

Booth: 1412

Special events: 16 author appearances with book giveaways.

Christian World

Booth: 1318

Christianaudio

Booth: 1926

Christianity Today International

Booth: 1538

ClearPlay

Booth: 1526

CNI Distribution

Booth: 1319

Specials/discounts: Free digital camera with $1,000 purchase.

Special events: Daily drawing for a digital camera. No purchase necessary.

The Compak Companies

Booth: 1740

Concordia Publishing House

Booth: 2209

Specials/discounts: Up to 55% discount, free freight and delayed billing on qualifying orders.

Premiums: Free tote bag and Big Jungle Adventure magnet, while supplies last.

Special events: Monday, 11 a.m., author-astronaut Colonel Jeffrey Williams will sign The Work of His Hands. Tuesday, 11 a.m., Mary Manz Simon will sign The Hear-Me-Read Bible.

New products: The Work of His Hands.

Copa Judaica

Booth: 328

Cosmos Gifts Corp.

Booth: 627

Creation By Design

Booth: 1619

Creation Science Evangelism

Booth: 2340

Crossway

Booth: 1903

Specials/discounts: Beginning Monday morning, be one of the first people to place an order at the booth to receive an iPod on the spot.

Special events: Paul Tripp, Christin Ditchfield, Bryan Litfin, Lydia Brownback, Starr Meade, Steve Nichols, Elyse Fitzpatrick.

New products: Share the Good News of Christmas, aiming to reach 1 million homes with the gospel this Christmas.

Crown Financial Ministries

Booth: 1435

CTA

Booth: 634

Dake Publishing

Booth: 1100

Danteck Group

Booth: 2205

David C. Cook

Booth: 1719

Specials/discounts: 55 for 55. Order a minimum of 55 backlist titles and receive 55% discount plus free freight. Join the New Release Program and earn up to as much as 52% discount. Also, ask about seasonal book packages.

Special events: Basic: Fear God world premiere with Francis Chan at the Roberts Orpheum Theater, June 29. Doors open at 5 p.m., with the event running 6-7:30 p.m. Limited seating.

New products: Action Bible with art by Marvel and DC Comics artist Sergio Cariello. Free floor display with purchase of 24, plus free freight and 50% discount.

DaySpring

Booth: 719

Specials/discounts: Order new product at the show to qualify for an additional discount; $800 or more wholesale for an additional 3% discount; $1,200 or more wholesale for an additional 5% discount; or $1,800 or more wholesale for an additional 8% discount. Total discount not to exceed 60%.

New products: Journals, mugs, notes and stationery, Really Woolly baby gifts, new and improved Really Woolly kids' video and Life to the Full Tableware.

Destiny Image

Booth: 2219

Dexsa Co.

Booth: 821

Dicksons

Booth: 508

Discovery House Publishers

Booth: 2135

E1 Entertainment

Booth: 1427

Specials/discounts: Ask us.

Premiums: free MusicSkin.

New products: MusicSkins, to protect your iPhone, iPod or laptop.

Ellie Claire/Summerside Press

Booth: 1507

Specials/discounts: Free freight on 15 items or more (through STL).

Premiums: Place a $500 order to enter a drawing to win an iPad.

Special events: Book signings by Tricia Goyer, Robin Jones Gunn, Cara Putman, Dan Britton and others.

New products: Peace by Jeff Nesbit; The Gathering Storm by Brock & Bodie Thoene; teen journals by Robin Jones Gunn and Melody Carlson; Pocket Inspirations; Wisdom Walks by Dan Britton and Jimmy Page; “Love Finds You” releases; and “When I Fall in Love” series.

EMI CMG Distribution

Booth: 1519

E-R Productions

Booth: 1312

E.P. Books

Booth: 1810

Emkay Candle Co.

Booth: 1918

Evergreen Press

Booth: 2305

Faith Library Publications

Booth: 1303

Faith One Publishing

Booth: 1634

FaithWords

Booth: 2335

Specials/discounts: 50% discount and free freight on show orders.

Special events: Retailers are invited to spend an evening with authors Ted Dekker, Jill Kelly, David Jeremiah, Chuck Swindoll and Philip Yancey on Monday, 6-7:30 p.m., at America's Center, rooms 220-221. Heavy hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be served.

Fireside Catholic Publishing

Booth: 913

Franklin Electronic Publications

Booth: 1335

Gale/Cengage Learning

Booth: 1635

Gardenfire

Booth: 435

Gifts of Faith

Booth: 637

GoBible

Booth: 2241

Good L Corp.

Booth: 1018

Gospel Light/Regal Books

Booth: 1803

Specials/discounts: Order any assortment of 100 or more backlist titles to receive 60% off, free freight and 60-day billing terms. Buy five, get one free on purchase of any assortment of Big Book or Smart Pages titles.

New products: SonSurf Beach Blast: Where Kids Meet Up With Jesus—Every Day! VBS; The Heart of Remarriage by Gary Smalley and Greg Smalley; Big God: What Happens When We Trust Him by Britt Merrick; and Lead Vertically by Craig Johnson.

Gregg Gift Co.

Booth: 401

Specials/discounts: One customer will win a free order equal to two times the order placed at the show, with a $3,000 maximum, and another will win a free order equal to the size of the show order, $1,500 maximum. Winners will be notified four to six weeks after the show. Every customer placing an order at the show will receive a coupon for discounts on future orders. Some restrictions and limitations apply, and details are subject to change.

Premiums: Product giveaways, including new VeggieTales items.

Special events: VeggieTales characters Larry and Bob will be at the booth Tuesday at 2 p.m.

New products: More than 60 new VeggieTales products; new Grow in Grace baby products; inspirational plush from Gund and home decor from artist Lyndon Gaither.

Group Publishing

Booth: 1735

G.T. Luscombe Co.

Booth: 809

Guideposts/Ideals Publications

Booth: 1724

H.J. Sherman Co.

Booth: 518

Haggai Books

Booth: 2534

Harrison House Publishers

Booth: 1409

Specials/discounts: Stop by for daily specials.

Premiums: Giveways Monday and Tuesday.

Special events: Appearances and book signings by Jonny Diaz, Tim Storey, Walter Hallam and Germaine Copeland.

New products: The Big Why by Walter Hallam; Comeback & Beyond by Tim Storey, Authentic by Taffi Dollar; and Global Call to Prayer by Germaine Copeland. Also visit the booth for a pre-edited version of More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz.

Hartnell House Publishing

Booth: 2403

Harvest House Publishers

Booth: 1203

Specials/discounts: Special fall frontlist offers include great discounts, free freight, additional dating and backlist-restocking offer.

Special events: book signings: Monday, 9-10 a.m., Josh McDowell, The Unshakable Truth; Monday, 10:30-11:30 a.m., Mindy Starns Clark, Under the Cajun Moon; and Tuesday 9-10 a.m., Jill Kelly, Prayers for Those Who Grieve.

New products: The Unshakable Truth by Josh McDowell and Sean McDowell; The Power of a Praying Life by Stormie Omartian; and Secrets of Harmony Grove by Mindy Starns Clark.

Heartfelt

Booth: 738

Hendrickson Publishers

Booth: 2118

Specials/discounts: Stop by the booth to learn how you can qualify for free freight and 60-day payment terms on new Fire Bibles, KJV Thinline Bibles and newly priced Hendrickson Christian Classics.

Hermitage Art Co.

Booth: 1711

His GEM

Booth: 300

Holben Design

Booth: 436

Holy Land Gifts

Booth: 629

Hope for the Heart

Booth: 1922

Howard Books

Booth: 1003

Howard's Jewelry

Booth: 635

Imagine Design

Booth: 529

Infinity Music Distribution

Booth: 1319

Special event: Trip Lee signing his new CD, Between Two Worlds, Tuesday, 10:15-11:30 a.m.

Infogroup/American Church Lists

Booth: 1218

Innovative

Booth: 1118

Inspirational Closeout Solutions

Booth: 2419

Integra Interactive

Booth: 1219

InterVarsity Press

Booth: 1819

Specials/discounts: 52% off, free freight, 90 days with minimum 50-unit order. Reader's Choice: 55%, free freight, 90 days, 12-unit minimum (single title). 55%, free freight, 90 days on My Heart, Christ's Home merchandiser. 55%, free freight, 90 days on Apologetics merchandiser.

Premiums: Free copy of Who You Are When No One's Looking, revised edition, with each order.

Special events: Book signings: Margot Starbuck, Unsqueezed, Monday, 11 a.m.; James Emery White, Christ Among the Dragons, Tuesday, 11 a.m.; Robert Velarde, The Wisdom of Pixar, Monday 1 p.m.; and Bob Fryling, The Leadership Ellipse, Tuesday, 1 p.m.

New products: My Heart, Christ's Home, Retold for Children.

J.M.S. Marketing & Sales

Booth: 1534

James Lawrence Co.

Booth: 819

Jerusalem Artists Co.

Booth: 919

John Hagee Ministries

Booth: 1602

Kerusso

Booth: 319

Kingstone Media Group

Booth: 1535

Kirkbride Bible Co.

Booth: 1718

Specials/discounts: 60% and 70% on selected styles.

Premiums: Free gift with every order.

Special events: Drawing for $100 Visa card.

New products: New styles and colors of the Thompson Chain-Reference Bible.

Know Him

Booth: 834

Kregel Publications

Booth: 1011

Specials/discounts: Up to 55% discount and 150-day terms

Special events: Book signing with New York Times best-selling author Cecil Murphey, Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the booth.

New products: When a Man You Love Was Abused by Cecil Murphey.

Kurt S. Adler

Booth: 526

LPG Greetings

Booth: 219

Lead Like Jesus

Booth: 1637

Legacy Press

Booth: 1113

Specials/discounts: Up to 50%, 90 days dating and free freight allowances, plus 30 extra days dating.

Premiums: Help Legacy Press celebrate 30 years in business with 30 extra days dating on all qualifying orders.

New products: Come by to preview all the newest titles, including The Christian Girl's Guide to Style.

Legacy Publishing Group

Booth: 426

Lighthouse Christian Products Co.

Booth: 334

Lion Hudson

Booth: 2334

Mediak

Booth: 1320

Merry Christmas From Heaven

Booth: 922

Milestones International Publishers

Booth: 2324

Moody Publishers

Booth: 1703

Premiums: totes, while supplies last.

Special events: Drop by to see the author signing list.

New products: The Ryrie ESV Study Bible.

Motive Entertainment

Booth: Town Center Family Entertainment Theatre 10

Premiums: Visit booth for promotional contests and opportunities.

New products: There Be Dragons, an epic action-adventure film by Roland Joffe set during the Spanish civil war.

Munce Group

Booth: 1927

Specials/discounts: Save $200 with free membership at the show.

Special events: Presentation and cake cutting, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Word of Life Christian Bookstores, Monday at 1 p.m.

New products: Send your customers an electronic catalog for $50.

Murphy Cap & Gown Co.

Booth: 1434

New Day Christian Distributors

Booth: 1527

New Growth Press

Booth: 902

New Hope Publishers

Booth: 1536

Special events: Book signings with Jackie Kendall and Dede Kendall, Monday at 9 a.m.; Kathi Macias, Monday at 10 a.m.; Daniel Darling, Monday at 11 a.m.; Jennifer Kennedy Dean, Monday at 1 p.m.; Sharon Hoffman, Monday at 2 p.m.; Susan Titus Osborn and Jeenie Gordon, Monday at 3 p.m.; Edna Ellison, Tuesday at 9 a.m.; Janet Thompson, Tuesday at 1 p.m.; and Brenda Poinsett, Tuesday at 2 p.m.

New Leaf Publishing Group

Booth: 2109

Specials/discounts: Monday: 55%, free freight and 60-day billing; Tuesday and Wednesday: 50%, free freight and 60-day billing.

Premiums: Transforming Church in Rural America, Your Guide to Zion and Bryce Canyon, while supplies last.

No Greater Joy Ministries

Booth: 1729

Noah's Ark Distribution

Booth: 611

Nordskog Publishing

Booth: 1412

Specials/discounts: extra 10%

Premiums: Plus 5% for ordering Monday.

Special events: Book signings with John Day, author of Truth Standing on its Head; Kim Simac, author of children's book With My Rifle By My Side; and Susie Hobson, author of Loving God With All Your Heart.

New products: Close to His Heart; With My Rifle By My Side; Loving God With All Your Heart; Jungle Sunrise; and Another World.

North Star Teacher Resources

Booth: 341

The Northampton Press

Booth: 1636

Not of This World

Booth: 726, 434

Oasis Audio

Booth: 1928

Specials/discounts: 10 units, 50% off, 60-day dating and free freight.

New products: Christy by Catherine Marshall; The Gathering Storm by Bodie and Brock Thoene; and Wild at Heart by John Eldredge.

Oil of Gladness/Every Good Gift

Booth: 706

Outline Bible Resources by Leadership Ministries Worldwide

Booth: 2028

Outreach

Booth: 1327

New products: See the latest in the To Save A Life product family and learn about back-to-school products. Included is the DVD release of To Save A Life and Life Saver: The Ultimate Devotional Handbook for Teens.

Oxford University Press

Booth: 1001

P&R Publishing

Booth: 1812

Specials/discounts: 51% discount for booth orders

Premiums: Domesticated Jesus by Harry Kraus (Monday) and Guns of Providence by Doug Bond (Tuesday).

Special events: Harry Kraus (Domesticated Jesus), 10 a.m., Monday; and Doug Bond (Guns of Providence), 10 a.m.,Tuesday.

New products: What My Golden Retriever Taught Me About God; Domesticated Jesus; Guns of Providence—third in the “Faith & Freedom” historical fiction trilogy; and You Never Stop Being a Parent.

P. Graham Dunn

Booth: 303

Specials/discounts: 51% discount for show orders.

Premiums: Opening orders and reorders are just $50. Also, stop by for a free, personalized train whistle.

Special events: A drawing each day at 4 p.m. for a $300, $400 and $500 credit. Must be present to win.

New products: Soy candles, wooden children's toys, votive candle holders, alphabet photography frames, crosses and blocks.

Philotheus

Booth: 212

Praiz POS

Booth: 1119

Precious Moments

Booth: 921

Protec

Booth: 607

Provident-Integrity Distribution

Booth: 1629

Pure Flix Entertainment

Booth: 1625

QuickVerse

Booth: 1440 2619 on email

Specials/discounts: With a $250 order, receive a 55% discount; $500 order, a 60% discount; and $1,000 order, a 65% discount.

Premiums: Order at the booth and receive free shipping.

New products: Pre-order QuickVerse 2011.

Rainbow Publishers

Booth: 1113

Specials/discounts: Extra discounts and free freight allowances, plus 30 extra days dating.

Premiums: Receive 30 extra days dating on all qualifying orders as we celebrate 30 years in business.

New products: Favorite Bible Families, Instant Bible Lessons for Preschoolers and more.

Revival Literature

Booth: 1213

Rhythm Band Instruments

Booth: 327

Robert Spooner Galerie

Booth: 311

Rolfs

Booth: 539

Roman

Booth: 308

Rose Publishing

Booth: 1007

Specials/discounts: 50% and free freight on titles not yet published, new pamphlet promotion and big discounts on DVD curricula.

Premiums: Free pamphlets for store buyers who bring the coupons from their buyers bag.

Special events: Chance to win $500 of products in a drawing to be held at 1 p.m.

New products: Christianity, Cults & Religions and Four Views of the End Times DVD-based curriculum. Christmas Story in Prophecy and Who I Am in Christ pamphlets.

STL Distribution North America

Booth: 1507

SW Press

Booth: 1539

Scripture Candy

Booth: 628

Servant Marketing

Booth: 335

Shepherd Press

Booth: 1102

Singer Co.

Booth: 503

Slingshot Publishing

Booth: 734

Solid Rock Jewelry

Booth: 801

Spirit & Truth Christian Jewelry Designs

Booth: 823

Spoken Word of God

Booth: 2526

Spring Arbor Distributors

Booth: 803

Standard Publishing

Booth: 2018

Specials/discounts: Stop by for specials and discounts.

Premiums: Daily giveaways.

Special events: Sneek Peek Product party Sunday; e-mail RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Check show daily for book signings and special events.

New products: My Basket of Blessing by Mary Manz Simon.

Strang Communications

Booth: 1702

Specials/discounts: Up to 56% off and free freight with qualifying order.

Premiums: Free books with orders.

Special events: Brian Zahnd will speak at the Heart of the Author event., then sign at the booth Wednesday, 9:30-11 a.m.

New products: The Faith and Values of Sarah Palin by Stephen Mansfield and David A. Holland, Eat This and Live! For Kids by Dr. Don Colbert and Unconditional? by Zahnd.

Swanson Christian Products

Booth: 603

Symtio

Booth: 1929

Tabbies

Booth: 1012 1217 in CR ad

Special/discounts: extra 5% off all orders at the show and through July 16.

Talicor

Booth: 423

TBN HolyLand Experience

Booth: 1621

Thomas Nelson Bargain Books

Booth: 2423

Specials/discounts: 85% off books, 70% off Bibles.

Thomas Press (I)

Booth: 1638

Trends International

Booth: 427

Trinitarian Bible Society

Booth: 1313

TrueBite

Booth: 318

Tyndale House Publishers

Booth: 1103

Specials/discounts: Up to 52% and free freight with qualifying promotions.

Premiums: Limited to participants in the Buyer's Bag.

Special events: Book signings Monday and Tuesday.

New products: Mentor Leader by Tony Dungy, What's in the Bible #4 DVD, Her Daughter's Dream by Francine Rivers, In His Image Daily Bible and Coming Back Stronger by Drew Brees.

Universal Designs

Booth: 320

Vida Publishers

Booth: 1835

WORDsearch Corp.

Booth: 2027

Warner Press

Booth: 2035

Specials/discounts: Extra discounts with show orders.

Special events: Brooke Keith signing Chrissie's Shell, Tuesday, 1:30-2:30 p.m.; Cathy Breisacher signing Petunia Pepper's Picture Day, Tuesday, 3-4 p.m.

WaterBrook Multnomah

Booth: 2524

Wesleyan Publishing House

Booth: 2418

Wesscott Marketing

Booth: 1722

Wholesale Christian Books

Booth: 2518

WinePress Group

Booth: 2121

Word Distribution

Booth: 1421

Special events: Monday night: screening of VeggieTales' Sweetpea Beauty; Tuesday night: screening of Amish Grace.

New products: Sweetpea Beauty—A Girl After God's Own Heart.

World Wide Printing

Booth: 1403

Xulon Press

Booth: 1734

Zondervan

Booth: 1835

Special events: Brandilyn Collins signing Final Touch, Monday, 9-10 a.m.; Bryan Davis signing Starlighter, Monday, 10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m.; Dawn Miller signing The Prophecy, Tuesday, 2-3 p.m.

Talking points on some of today's big issues from industry insiders

From the growth of other retail channels selling inspirational products to the rise of digital publishing, the Christian products world continues to face major challenges and change.

We asked a selection of industry figures for their thoughts on and involvement with some of the big issues and trends:

• What do you believe to be the most important trend in Christian publishing?

• When were you last in a Christian retail store and why?

• What can Christian stores do to better differentiate themselves from other channels selling Christian products?

• Do you own an e-book reader, and if so, what kind and what are you currently reading on it?

• How have you been able to use social media effectively in your work?

ALLEN ARNOLD | Senior vice president and publisher-fiction, Thomas Nelson

Trend: An exciting trend in terms of what's selling is how compelling content outranks the selling power of marquee names. The days of customers buying every book from author x just because author x has written a zillion books and is a well-known personality are vanishing. Much of today's freshest, most exciting content is coming from new voices crying out from the wilderness.

Store visit: I frequent Christian bookstores about once a month. Last month I was in a local Christian bookstore to buy a family gift–and of course, to check out the growing Christian fiction section.

E-reader: Within our offices, we have access to the Kindle, iPad and Sony Reader.

DAN BALOW | Publisher, Oasis Audio

Store visit: Over a year ago. I regularly work in the large store in our church. There are no other Christian retailers within five miles.

Differentiation Focus on local preferences. Find out what people want in your area and give it to them. Don't retail in a vacuum.

E-reader: A Kindle. The Bible and various business titles.

STEVE BECKER | Executive vice president of marketing, Bridge-Logos Foundation

Trend: I believe the most important trend in Christian publishing surprisingly isn't the e-book but the trend to move to be stores of just best-sellers, gifts and music. I think it means tough choices for small publishers and will actually end up as bad for the stores that go that way.

Differentiation: Continue to sell a more comprehensive line up than Wal-Mart. I also feel that the gap between our stores and our churches has to be bridged. Our pastors need to see these stores as the ministries they are. We should make them the social centers of our communities with events, and counseling. Some drug stores now have a nurse that will tell you what medicine you should get if you are sick. What a great outreach for a pastor. Another area is homeschoolers—they are in every community and growing in number.

E-reader: Most of my work is done on a laptop. I would never read another book if I had to do it on an e-book reader. It's just not my thing.

MICHAEL COVINGTON | Information and education director, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association

Store visit: I last visited a Christian store in November to look for advent-specific books for my two boys. Phoenix is a sprawling valley with over 6 million people, and very few Christian retailers have survived near our home. We do our best to patronize the one store that is left when we have a need that they can meet.

Differentiation: What stores should really be seeking is to do something different that adds value for the shopper, something that will make them decide to go to a Christian store instead of somewhere else.

To do this they need to be intimately familiar with their community. Community could be defined as small as a church congregation or a neighborhood or as large as a metropolitan area. I believe this is evidenced best by looking at the store where I used to work. Tammy Garner has owned The Master's since 1986, and in those 24 years she has married the store to the community. Not only does she lead within the four walls of the Master's, but she is involved in civic government, non-profit board work, community business groups (i.e. Rotary), church and parachurch ministry work and more.

E-reader: I have the Kindle app on my iPhone and almost exclusively read my books on it now. I am hoping to soon have an iPad as well. I am just beginning to read Linchpin by Seth Godin.

Social media: I have been using Twitter since the very beginning and have enjoyed getting to know many people both personally and professionally that I might not have otherwise. I have also used both Facebook and LinkedIn quite prolifically. I see social media as a way of building community. I have found more than once that relationships established through these platforms have led to great friendships and partnerships.

PAMELA DAVIS | President, Davis Marketing

Store: Just the other day. I was reviewing their gift assortment.

Differentiation: Never forget the reason we are here and offer something for everyone. We tend to overlook that teen/college and career age shopper.

E-reader: I do not have an e-book reader, although I am considering purchasing one. I'm currently reading a Ted Dekker book; I love it, but it's a little eerie.

Social media: I love Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. It keeps me apprised of trends; and keeps my company in the forefront of potential customers.

MARY DEMUTH | Author

Trend: The emergence of digital content, as it is rocking the entire publishing industry. The key will be to look at the trend as something truly beneficial to the Kingdom of God and to the industry. Just think about how digital content crosses borders with ease.

Store visit: Last month. My church has a bookstore, so it's convenient to go there if I need any resources.

Differentiation: Provide a unique experience, not necessarily limited to merchandising. Creating a haven, a destination, a party/concert venue will broaden the appeal and make the place a vital piece of the community.

ROB EAGAR | President, Wildfire Marketing

Trend: I believe that the changes in technology are actually usurped by the fact that authors must carry a larger marketing responsibility than ever before. To succeed in the current marketplace, authors have to be more than just good writers, they must be good marketers.

Store visit: I visited a Christian store last month just to browse their book selection.

Differentiation: Christian stores need to offer a wider selection of Christian books. Many times, it seems like the general market stores have just as many Christian book titles available along with all of their other product categories. This makes a general market store feel more like a one-stop shop, which appeals to consumers.

If a Christian store is going to maximize their segment, they have to be seen as experts on religious book subjects and offer a wider selection. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening in many stores today. Less floor space seems dedicated to books while more floor space is given to music, greeting cards, apparel, and Christian souvenirs. I know those other items may be more profitable, but that's one reason why the general stores are gaining market share in Christian books.

EVA MARIE EVERSON | Author

Store visit: A couple of months ago. I was there for a book signing; I stuck around to buy a book. But in all fairness, I rarely visit bookstores at all. As a Christian writer I have enough books to read to last me a lifetime.

Differentiation: I wish I could find a Christian bookstore with WiFi, a coffee shop set up for meetings or just reading, getting my work done... Maybe even a reference section that is made up of used books that folks share from their personal libraries. Would Jesus visit such a store? Sure He would. In His day, towns and villages had places where the men gathered to discuss the Scriptures or to debate the laws of God and women had a common courtyard for cooking, talking, maybe sharing a recipe or two.

ALTON GANSKY | Author

Trend: The most dramatic change has been in the “gender shift” among authors. A casual glance through almost any CBA catalog shows a preponderance of female authors. Nothing wrong in that. Women have always been significant contributors to the industry and should remain so. The concern comes in the loss of male writers writing for men. The trend makes sense since estimates show 80% of purchases made in a Christian bookstore are made by women. But what of Christian male readers? One wonders if they've been written off.

Store visit: It has been a while. In my case, I live in a semi-rural area and there are no Christian bookstores of size. What bookstores do exist in my area carry very few books, especially fiction. I often travel to San Diego and frequent a wonderful store there.

Differentiation: People want convenience and information. Compare the shopping experience of buying a book on Amazon to that of an in-store purchase. It takes a few days for the Amazon book to arrive. A bookstore can deliver it immediately. Would over-the-phone purchases work? Would delivering books like pizzas be worthwhile? I don't know.

E-reader: I own the first edition of the Kindle reader and I love it. I read books purchased from Amazon, but I can also send manuscripts I'm reviewing to it. I also read on my iPhone, something I expected to be tiresome and unfulfilling. I was wrong. It reads far better than I imagined.

JEFF GERKE | Publisher, Marcher Lord Press

Trend: We are in the age of the independent publisher and the niche market. As mainstream Christian publishers focus more and more on their bull's-eye target demographic, especially in fiction, they exclude more and more people. Not every Christian in America wants to read bonnet-and-buggy fiction, after all.

Store visit: It was last year sometime, when I wanted to buy a Christian music CD for my wife and needed it right then. I haven't found a reason to go into one myself in probably four years, and then it was just to buy a nonfiction book I had to have that day. I do my book and music buying online.

Differentiation: Realize that the old way is gone and isn't coming back. See it as an opportunity to reinvent yourself and embrace innovations. I like Christian novelist Stephanie Grace Whitson's idea to have a bookstore with a print-on-demand machine in the back. Shoppers browse a computer catalog to select the books they want, then sit in overstuffed chairs sipping lattes and listening to music while their books are printed in the back. The store doesn't have to worry about inventory on the shelves or returns or not having what the customer wants. It's all there in the catalog and can be printed up in minutes.

ROBBIE HALSTEAD | President, Kingdom Retail Solutions

Trend: I believe the most important trend in publishing currently is e-book technology. Like anything new, it may take a while for others to grasp on to it and to accept it. As the prices of the readers continue to drop, sales will improve. But I believe it will revolutionize not only the publishing of books, but the selling thereof. I believe publishers, if they have not already, should be mindful of how this technology could affect the standalone stores and work to partner with them in making sure this technology drives more business to their local store and not away.

Differentiation: Service and selection. Christian bookstores should stand out from all businesses as a example of excellent service. We should be demonstrating the love of God in our stores, and as a result there should be nothing but great service. Part of great service is being able to have the selection of products that customers want in their stores so as to not drive them to those other channels.

Social media: I have found great success in using social media, particularly through the use of Facebook and LinkedIn. Not only have I been able to pick up additional business that I know I otherwise would not have had, I also been able to connect with the larger Christian retail industry.

KAREN KINGSBURY | Author

Store visit: A month ago for a book signing. I love visiting Christian bookstores, meeting with readers and then praying with the staff before I leave. I always wish I had longer to shop.

Differentiation: It must feel to the reader like they are walking into a church setting, almost. The music and frontliners and merch displays must be pleasing, the atmosphere warm and friendly. I sometimes see Christian bookstores as today's malt shops. Stores should be a destination-driven location—meaning involve your readers in weekly events . . . scrapbooking nights, mom's night out (with goodie bags). Celebrate! Make the customers look forward to hanging out together at your store!

E-reader: I don't own one—but I'm getting an iPad.

Social media: Social media is everything to me. I love my readers, and I'm on Facebook every day. For me, the readers are my friends, and I know many of them by name. I pray for them all daily. Facebook gives me a virtual living room where I can meet with my readers whenever I'd like . . . it feels like having 50,000 friends over.

STEVE LAUBE | President, The Steve Laube Agency

Trend: In fiction I have been encouraged by the continued diversity in publisher's acquisitions. While “romance” is king, a great story can still get a chance. In non-fiction there has been a concerted push by publishers to acquire only those authors with a built-in audience of some sort. This is especially hard for the debut writers who have enormous talent and insight but have yet to construct a personal following.

Store visit: A month or so back, while traveling on business, I visited a local Christian store to observe their layout, featured products and whether our client's books were in stock. The results were mixed. A front-of-store cardboard display was empty of product which was good for store sales, but signaled a buyer that was much too conservative (“stack ‘em high and watch ‘em fly” vs. “keep it low and they won't go”). Since I did not own that item they missed out on selling one to me.

Differentiation: Personal service and community building. The competition isn't always the online channels. Sometimes it is simply those outlets that choose the top 10 titles to display. Thus product knowledge and personal relationships are the key to customer retention.

AARON LINNE | Executive producer and digital marketing manager, B&H Publishing Group

Trend: The acceptance of technological advancements. Now, more than ever before, Christian publishers and retailers have multiple, dynamic opportunities to listen to the needs of readers and book-buyers. Instead of just creating content and hoping it meets a need, we're able to listen directly to the needs, experiences, and excitement of real, actual people.

Differentiation: Over time, a customer should become like a trusted friend and the store a safe haven to share their burdens. Why couldn't a store manager also lead a Bible study—open to anyone—in the store itself? Why couldn't there be a table and chairs for customers and employees to share and disciple one another? In essence, if I had to say what is the one, most important thing that a Christian store can do to better differentiate themselves from other channels selling Christian products it would be one thing: the opportunity to prayer with your customers.

E-reader: I currently own three e-readers. On my Kindle DX, I just finished ReWork by the guys who run 37signals.com. On my Barnes & Noble Nook I am reading through Anne Rice's Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana. And on my Apple iPad I've been reading the HCSB Bible through Olive Tree's Bible Reader app.

Social media: Social media is of the utmost importance for B&H Publishing Group. It has enabled us to deepen relationships with our readers, retail partners, and authors. It's a great synergy to know that our readers are wanting to know what we have planned, what contests are going on and—most importantly—how our books have helped change their lives.

ELDON MEYER | District manager, Concordia Publishing House

Trend: Electronic books, iPad. ... Buying a new title is almost instantaneous and without travel and in-store hassle.

Store visit: Three weeks ago, making sales calls.

Differentiation: Personal service and product knowledge. The local store must know the church market they serve: Which translation each church uses, details that assist the walk-in consumer.

KIN MILLEN | Sales manager, Noble Marketing

Differentiation: Observe retailers in other sectors to get ideas for merchandising, pricing, and frontliner practices. Managers should be watching national brands like Nordstrom, The Gap, Kohls, Apple Stores, Office Depot and others. Next, observe Barnes & Noble for display ideas to apply to store entry area, checkout area, back-of- the-store, audio book area, greeting cards, fiction, children's books and seating. Make sure your store is as appealing to men as well as women, and to young people from 18-30 and teens.

E-reader: Owned a Kindle for 12 months. Plan on buying an iPad.

KIM PETTIT | Director, Christian Trade Association International

Store visit: Today, I visited Challenge Bookshop in Accra, Ghana. It was a humbling experience to see how dedicated our brothers and sisters are to getting God's word out in difficult circumstances. One place we visited had no power this morning. Try doing business with limited internet access, intermittent electricity, a 10,000-mile supply chain and books that are out of reach for a majority of the population. We need to be more diligent in praying for one another in this ministry.

Differentiation: Offer what other channels cannot: excellent service that highlights our commitment to a mutual faith. As the Spirit leads, offer to pray for customers then and there.

NELSON SABA | Founder and CEO, Immersion Digital (Glo Bible)

Trend: I believe digital publishing platforms, like the iPad and other tablet readers, are the most important trend in Christian publishing and the industry as a whole. They represent the next wave of technology and are one of the most dynamic opportunities for publishers to expand the reach of their content.

Store visit: My last visit to a Christian store was about a month ago to check out the latest in Christian music and to shop for biblical reference materials.

E-reader: Yes, I just recently received my iPad and I love using it to read periodicals. Newspapers, and especially magazines, are so crisp and colorful on the display.

Social media: The key is to identify what you have to offer your customers and then interact with them in a way that is transparent and helpful. Social media provides an invaluable opportunity to dialogue with your customers.

SHERRY M. WHITE | Senior buyer, American Wholesale Book Co.

Store visit: I was in Mardel's in mid-April and, of course, in the Faith sections of Books-A-Million every week.

Differentiation: Be creative with pricing—the customer is looking for value—find ways of offering items that really share value with the customer.

E-reader: I have a Sony Reader, but nothing is on it—I have not moved into that world yet. I still like the feel and experience of a book in hand.

Social media: To some degree. On the Internet daily and, of course, e-mails.

ADRIANNA WRIGHT | Publicity manager, InterVarsity Press

Store visit: I think I was in a Christian store attempting to find non-sappy-religiously-appropriate Christmas cards last year.

Differentiation: Really, really know their products and be able to help customers find what they are looking for (or possibly something comparable).

Social media: I use Facebook and Twitter personally and for work. It's a great way to stay connected and make new connections.

MORE: To read an extended version of this article, click here.

Leading novelists discuss trends and retail opportunities

Inspirational fiction remains a bright spot in Christian publishing, with new writers and subgenres pushing the traditional boundaries of the category. Christian Retailing talked with five leading authors about the trends, their work and how Christian retailers can maximize their impact with faith-based novels. Taking part in the discussion were:

Read excerpts here and listen in on the whole chat at roundtable.christianretailing.com.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: Why is Christian fiction on such an upward trend?

COLLEEN COBLE: I hear from a lot of readers who say that they are sick of the darkness that they see in ABA (general market) fiction, the language, the compromising positions/situations.

JERRY B. JENKINS: People are looking for something beyond themselves. This is a scary and troubling era. Even secular readers are saying that if they hear about a novel that is Christian-based or biblically based, it fits that hunger and they check it out. That is where we are seeing so many crossover readers.

LISA SAMSON: Whenever there is an economic downturn, people turn to something to forget about where they are and their troubles. Fiction takes people to a different place.

TERRI BLACKSTOCK: When I came to the Christian market about 15 years ago, we only had a couple of subgenres: historical, romance and contemporary books with preachers. Now have almost every genre that the ABA has ... readers have an alternative. They used to have to skip over the things they didn't like in their secular novels, and now they don't have to do that because they can go to a Christian book and really have their values affirmed, their beliefs challenged and their walk with Christ challenged.

LISA WINGATE: You're seeing a growth in people looking for what really reflects where most of middle America lives. Whether they regularly attend church or not, most people do have a faith and they do have a large belief, and I think they are looking for fiction that brings them closer to that, not pulls them away.

JENKINS: It used to be that the alternative to secular fiction with all of its graphic, sex or violence or language was Christian fiction that was so tidy and pristine that people didn't like it—even Christians. Nowadays, I think we've grown up. We know how to avoid the language and the graphic stuff, but it's still gritty with real people who sin and fail, and not everything is tied into a neat bow at the end. Christian fiction is maturing.

BLACKSTOCK: We are putting in our books questions that real people ask, like why God allows suffering, that kind of thing ... (not) pat answers, but we are trying to portray real people who suffer and who have real-life, honest questions. I think that's helpful to unbelievers who read our books because they realize then that we're not these cardboard people who think we have all the answers.

SAMSON: Whereas Christian fiction a few years ago was a very prescriptive kind of story, now it's a journey. Not all of our stories are filled with answers. Now characters are allowed not to find the pill that is going to solve everything. (Now they can say), "Well, I don't get all the answers, but I have a Savior. I have a God who is in me with my questions," and I think it's just very authentic, and people are responding to it.

WINGATE: There is a lot more room now for a story that falls somewhere in the middle. ... You are seeing mainstream publishers cross into CBA publishing and Christian publishers crossing over into the mainstream parts of the bookstore.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: With that blurring, what are the defining elements of Christian fiction?

JENKINS: Whether you are evangelical or not, a Christian author has a hopeful worldview. While everything isn't happily-ever-after in the end, it should definitely point toward hope and I think that is what is so refreshing to people. They read a really tough story, and somebody is really suffering and in the end, while it may not all work out perfectly, there is hope and there is some redemption and there is forgiveness, and that's our worldview.

COBLE: My novel always has to include that hope, and it always has to reinforce my own Christian values. Even if the character isn't initially a Christian, what those values reinforce is that there is consequence for sin, and there is a God who cares.

BLACKSTOCK: Christian novels should have something of eternal value. Books that are clean and wholesome but don't have a Christian theme, I don't know why they would have a Christian label. Our novels should challenge (readers) to bear more fruit or be redemptive and point people to Christ or illustrate biblical principles. I want my message to be organic to the plot, but I am always intentionally evangelical in what I write.

JENKINS: It's important to me to imagine a reader who is uninitiated to our language and our culture and is skeptical, so I can't use phrases that are beautiful to us—"I am redeemed by the precious blood of the Lamb." That is special to us, but it means nothing to the world.

BLACKSTOCK: Sometimes it can be even more powerful in sharing the gospel when you have a character who is rejecting the gospel. That's fun to do because then the unbeliever sees that and says,, 'That's me. I feel those things. I'm that person.' Then you can show the opposite of that. You just have to be creative in how you do it.

SAMSON: I have noticed that Christian fiction, as far as portraying unbelievers, is more complex. ... It used to be if you didn't know Jesus, you were a bad guy. I think that's a real grown-up thing that's happened to Christian fiction.

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: How can Christian stores better connect customers with Christian fiction?

COBLE: I am CEO of American Fiction Christian Writers, and we have launched a Web site, www.fictionfinder.com, that allows authors and publishers to post about their books, topics that they cover, issues that might help someone who comes into the bookstore. The best way to market is to understand the fiction, to be a reader.

JENKINS: A lot of people get into the business because they love reading, and then they realize this is the busiest job they have ever had and they don't have the time to read. But always, when a retailer has read a book, that's the absolute best thing that can happen. When somebody comes through and says, "I am looking for science fiction," if somebody says, "I just read this one and you'll love it," it's a sale and that's all there is to it.

COBLE: I would like booksellers to think of our books as ministry tools because when someone comes in (who is) going through a divorce, the staff can point them, of course, to a self-help book, but they might also say, "This novel is also about divorce, and it has helped some of our customers."

SAMSON: Our books are met with skepticism as far as really helping people. Wouldn't it just be lovely if somehow we could get our reader letters or snippets to retailers to say, 'These are helping people, and here are some of the things that people said'? We all have our stories. Someone was on the verge of suicide and read my books straight up and wrote me and said, "This book saved my life."

COBLE: If only bookstore owners and employees could catch a hold of the vision that emotion reaches a different place in a person and that's what our stories bring—we have truth embedded.

My last book was about drug abuse, and my book signings became, literally, counseling sessions because people were coming in to tell me that their children had drug-abuse problems, and their loved ones. You just have no idea how much potential is in these novels and how much healing power is in them and how the Holy Spirit is using them in people's lives.

WINGATE: The beauty of fiction that makes it different from reading self-help and nonfiction is your chance to be in the mind, heart, body and soul of another person. If you are dealing with someone who is further back on that path, whatever it is—going through a divorce, caring for an elderly relative who is dying or a child with drug abuse—sometimes reading that story is their chance to walk all the way through that path and see how God pulls out on the other end, to look ahead and think, "OK, somebody else did it."

CHRISTIAN RETAILING: What are you working on now?

BLACKSTOCK: I am working on an 'Intervention' series. It has to do with a mother whose daughter is dealing with drug abuse, and it came out of my own life with a daughter who is going through that, so it was very personal to me.

JENKINS: I have a book coming in July called The Last Operative (Tyndale House Publishers), and it's really something different for me, an international spy thriller. I've been writing sort of big-themed books lately, and this is not one—this is really some escapism, and I think the market is ready for it. People are saying, "Can I just have a book that I can enjoy reading at the beach?" There is some important truth in it, and there is definitely a Christian angle and everything, but it is just a fun escape.

SAMSON: Resurrection in May (Thomas Nelson), which will be coming out this summer, is about a woman who goes to Rwanda ... at the time of the genocide in the early '90s. ... She comes back and has basically died inside. The person who brings her back to life the most is a man from her past who was on death row, so it's kind of a twist there—the dead brings the dead to life, which is so Jesus, with the death on the cross. I became a pen pal with a man on death row in Ohio who helped me write this book.

COBLE: I started out writing historical romance, but my dream was always to write mysteries because that is what I loved to read, romantic suspense. My first book in the "Mercy Falls" series, The Lightkeeper's Daughter (Thomas Nelson), released in January: Addie was raised by a light keeper and his wife and discovers they were not her parents. She goes on a search to find her real father and discovers that her family isn't nearly as important as her heavenly Father. Book two will be out in October.

WINGATE: Never Say Never (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) was inspired by the hurricane evacuations that we have seen in recent years in Texas. What better time to find out how much faith you've got than when your stuck in the woods in a car during a hurricane coming? This summer I will have Beyond Summer (Penguin), which is based on a neighborhood in Dallas, and it's about people suffering ... God mixing three very different women together who are struggling with different things and how He changes all of them and pulls them through.

Books, Bibles and DVDs helping Christians make the case for belief in this 'golden age'

Apologetics material recently moved to the front of the Denver-area Inklings bookstore at Cherry Hills Community Church, in close proximity to pastor Jim Dixon's book and sermon series on DVD.

The higher profile for books and videos defending Christianity and the Bible is linked to September's debut of the Institute of Apologetics and Evangelism at the Evangelical Presbyterian church—and highlights a trend that one publisher calls a golden age for apologetics.

Manager Rusty Miller expects to expand her inventory of the genre at Inklings by 20%, coinciding with the customer interest she believes will follow the institute's launch.

"It's not big compared to a larger store," Miller said of the 4-foot, four-shelf layout that moved from the middle of the 2,000-square-foot outlet. "But for our store it's a fairly big section."

High-profile authors Lee Strobel and Mark Mittelberg have moved to Colorado to make regular appearances at Cherry Hills following an institute kick-off event in March that was nationally simulcast.

Strobel, already popular with his "Case for" series of books that culminated in the Case for Christ Study Bible (Zondervan, February), is one of the better-selling apologetics authors at Inklings.

His forthcoming schedule at the church includes an appearance July 25, the day after an apologetics conference in Denver sponsored by Veritas Seminary. A nationwide satellite telecast of Mittelberg's Becoming a Contagious Christian seminar follows Oct. 16.

This is part of what Miller calls a church-wide effort to equip Christians to evangelize and explain their faith, a movement that is stirring far beyond Colorado's borders.

Aside from his seminars, Mittelberg also continues to write new works on apologetics, including his October Tyndale House Publishers release, The Questions Christians Hope No One Will Ask.

Apologetics is of interest worldwide, said Dave Almack, U.S. director for CLC International. The Fort Washington, Pa.-based ministry operates eight bookstores in the U.S. and 200 in other nations.

"Of course, some of the classic works on theology and apologetics in general are popular," Almack said. "I would include people like C.S. Lewis and others that define the faith as major players today."

"I think it's being driven by production of high-quality product," observed Kevin Walker, CLC's marketing coordinator. He lists Strobel's study Bible, the Apologetics Study Bible (Holman Bibles, 2007) and a series of more than 250 charts and apologetics pamphlets from Rose Publishing as CLC's leading items.

Other recent top sellers are books from Harvest House Publishers, one of the most active in the genre with seven releases scheduled between January 2010 and March 2011, including last month's release The Unshakable Truth by veteran apologist Josh McDowell and his son, Sean. The book takes a relational approach to apologetics and aims to be a comprehensive handbook on what Christians believe, why they believe it, how it is relevant to life and how they can pass it on to the next generation.

Two other popular titles from Harvest House are Sean McDowell's Apologetics for a New Generation (2009) and The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics (2008) by Ed Hindson and Ergun Caner.

At CLC's stores, the leading Harvest House sellers are titles on cults and other religions by John Ankerberg; and titles by Ron Rhodes, president of Reasoning from the Scriptures. Rhodes' The Popular Dictionary of Bible Prophecy released in February.

Ken Ham, director of the Answers in Genesis museum near Cincinnati, has also been attracting buyers. His Dinosaurs for Kids (Master Books/New Leaf Publishing Group) released last October.

Interestingly, many CLC stores are located in urban areas, where Walker said they get a boost from numerous churches sponsoring Bible institutes.

Interest in apologetics extends to rural areas as well. In the last year, central Minnesota retailer Debbie Woodard has doubled the inventory at Bethany Book & Gift in Baxter. She and her husband, Mike, are giving close attention to the category at their second store, which they opened last October in neighboring Wadena.

"It started with Jerusalem Countdown (John Hagee, FrontLine/Strang Book Group, 2006) and David Jeremiah's What in the World is Going On? (Thomas Nelson, 2008)," Woodard said of the long-developing groundswell.

The wave has stimulated a surge of interest in Jeremiah's Escape The Coming Night (Thomas Nelson), a 2001 title that was updated in 2005; and Charting the End Times (Harvest House, 2001), "Left Behind" co-author Tim LaHaye's eschatological treatise that released amid the fiction series' popular run.

More current titles leaving the shelves include Joel C. Rosenberg's Inside the Revolution (Tyndale House Publishers, 2009), which is also available on DVD; Mark Hitchcock's Cashless and 2012 (Harvest House, both 2009) and Israel Under Fire by Ankerberg and Jimmy DeYoung (Harvest House, 2009).

Interest in apologetics spills over into strong Bible sales, which have remained consistent at Bethany Book & Gift despite the recession.

The Case for Christ Study Bible, which was featured along with other Strobel titles, was popular at Easter. Holman Bibles' Apologetics Study Bible (B&H Publishing Group, 2007) has been a consistent seller, Woodard said.

"I have a staff member who just turned 18, and she wants the Apologetics Study Bible—not the student edition," the retailer said. "Because of her excitement, I think we'll see some of her friends pick it up."

A Golden Age

Such notable retail activity symbolizes what Jeremy Howard, managing acquisitions editor for Bibles, reference books and commentaries at B&H Publishing Group, calls a golden age of apologetics.

The holder of a Ph.D. in the field, Howard said Christians are being forced to develop more convincing arguments to counter the New Atheists, who are led by such best-selling authors as Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris.

"Even from elementary school forward you're likely to be confronted with opposition," Howard said. "There's been a development the last 50 years; out of that have arisen a lot of Christian scholars who have decided, 'You know, that's where I'm going to develop my expertise.' "

This emphasis is featured in B&H's Holman Christian Standard Study Bible, which releases in October. It will include essays on apologetics by two-dozen scholars and a pair of feature-length articles exploring the Bible as God's inspired Word.

The product, which will also be released as an iPhone app, follows the Apologetics Study Bible, with sales of more than 150,000 copies. It spawned a student version this year edited by Sean McDowell. There is also a digital edition of the Apologetics Study Bible, The Apologetics Study Bible for Students app.

"We live in an age in which resources dedicated to propagating unbelief are widely available," Howard said. "This highlights more than ever the need for Christians to be trained in explaining and defending their faith."

Atheists are also using new technology to combat apologetics arguments made by Christians. A new app, the "Atheist Pocket Debater," was recently released and at press time was ranked at No. 100 in popularity at Apple's iTunes store. The product is set up for quick reference and memorization, and includes different ways to argue the same topics. Examples include the "Lack of Historical Evidence for Jesus" and "America Was NOT Created as a Christian Nation."

B&H Publishing Group/LifeWay Digital is releasing four new Apologetics iPhone apps to help students defend and articulate their beliefs.

Among B&H's other apologetics material is Contending With Christianity's Critics (2009), the second in a two-book series that originated with a conference sponsored by the Evangelical Philosophical Society.

Howard sees other publishers entering this niche, a development he hopes will move it beyond what he called the pop-level apologetics that characterized much of the 1980s.

"It's getting back to apologists having to hone their arguments," he said.

Jon Farrar, acquisition director for nonfiction at Tyndale House Publishers, said one reason for the flowering of interest is some authors' exaggerated rumors of apologetics' demise.

Books such as Josh McDowell's More Than a Carpenter (15 million in print) and Strobel's The Case for Christ (Zondervan, 1998) continue selling in larger numbers than those who claimed the interest had passed, Farrar said.

However, he pointed out that New Atheists' arguments are gathering steam, with 20% of young Americans now professing no faith. The resurgent non-believers became more vocal after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which became a symbol of the evil that religion can inspire, Farrar added.

In the past, atheists accused religious people of being backward and misguided, but now they are claiming the "misinformation" of religious traditions is harmful, the Tyndale editor said.

"That new message requires a new and different type of apologetics—an apologetics that reviews the significant contributions of a Christian worldview to the world," Farrar said.

"There is a need to answer the new critiques atheists have leveled against religion as a whole and Christianity in particular. New authors, such as Dinesh D'Souza (What's So Great About Christianity?, Tyndale, 2007) are rising to that challenge."

Still, the genre is getting saturated, said Al Hsu, associate editor of InterVarsity Press (IVP). He noted that numerous authors have published responses to the New Atheists—which includes IVP's March release Against All Gods by Phillip Johnson and John Mark Reynolds.

While there seems to be a perennial need for classic, "know why you believe" resources addressing such topics as the Bible's reliability and the historicity of the resurrection, Hsu said the New Atheists are raising other issues.

"There's also an increasing need for resources addressing more postmodern concerns," said Hsu, whose company is releasing its latest series of apologetics pamphlets this summer. "Things like Christianity's mistreatment of others, misuse of power and questions of whether God and Scripture are abusive, sexist (or) homophobic."

Among the titles InterVarsity is releasing is A Place for Truth: Leading Thinkers Explore Life's Hardest Questions (Veritas Books), edited by Dallas Willard. Releasing in September, the book features in one volume some of the Veritas Forum's most notable presentations by Francis Collins, Tim Keller, N.T. Wright and others.

Joni Eareckson Tada & Friends delve into some of the issues of our day in Life In the Balance, to be released from Regal Books next month. The authors address such topics as street violence, eugenics and end-of-life issues.

Examining Trends

With more than 20 books and Bible editions by well-known author Ray Comfort, Bridge-Logos Foundation almost has a one-man apologetics section.

Among the Southern Californian's titles are World Religions in a Nutshell (2008), a 2009 re-release of Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species with a 50-page critique of his ideas; and Moody Gold (2009), the fourth in a series of books reviewing sermons by legendary American preachers.

"In this genre, he's definitely our best-selling author," said Publisher Lloyd Hildebrand. "In Evolution: A Fairy Tale for Grownups (2008) he uses the words of well-known evolutionists who are raising doubts about Darwin's theory."

Comfort's following, coupled with the continuing popularity of C.S. Lewis and such books as Josh McDowell's decades-old Evidence that Demands a Verdict (re-released by Nelson in 1999), shows that people are searching for answers, Hildebrand said.

This search includes a growing interest in creationism and answering evolution's supporters, one of the leading trends in apologetics material, Hildebrand said.

Not only did the 2008 documentary, Expelled prompt a re-examination of evolution, he said the homeschool movement is sparking interest in creationism.

"It seems Christianity and creationism are gathering more evidence than they did back then," Hildebrand said of the infamous 1925 Scopes trial, which bolstered evolution's public image.

"There is more openness on the part of people who used to believe in evolution to be questioning it because of what they're heard," he said. "I think Christians have become more articulate, and I think people are sitting up and listening more than they used to."

Yet, that doesn't mean they are receptive to old-style lectures rooted in biblical awareness, according to two publishers' representatives.

Tyndale's Farrar said his interpretation of this phenomenon is that people today usually want a relationship first with someone before they are willing to talk about faith and religion.

"But, after the relationship, they do want to explore the 'evidences' for Christianity and the reasonableness of faith," Farrar said.

Harvest House Editor Paul Gossard said the trend is away from non-relational, non-applicational apologetics—an approach he says lays out biblical information in an orderly fashion but expects the user to know what to do with it.

With the cultural shift, such data gets thrown into a "mind swamp" of competing opinions, he said.

"The best apologetics have always put our defense of the faith in a 'people context,' " Gossard said. "That is, what implications does the grand scheme of Christian doctrine have for day-to-day life and for immortal life?"

A Northern California retailer has noticed this search for relevance. Brian Hill, one of the owners of Lighthouse Christian Supply in Dublin, said buyers there show more interest in D'Souza's What So Great About Christianity? or Tim Keller's The Reason for God (Dutton, 2007) than Strobel's The Case for Christ or The Case for Faith (Zondervan, 2000.)

"We're seeing a shift in the type of apologetics," Hill said. "(People are saying), 'Instead of proving that Christ is right or God exists, prove that it matters.' "

Despite this preference, Strobel's books are still popular at Lighthouse. So are the companion DVDs linked to his "Case for" titles, as well as a three-part DVD series, "Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution" (Exploration Films).

In general, apologetics videos are strong sellers, Hill said.

"The (Bible study) groups like to have a video clip to watch before their study or discussion," Hill said. "But they have to be done well. Just because it's video curriculum doesn't mean it's going to sell."

Well-done material has earned a place on retailers' shelves, though, such as Focus on the Family's "The Truth Project" (Tyndale, 2006), a series of 12 one-hour lessons taught by Del Tackett. Focus released TrueU: Does God Exist?, its latest DVD series in May, the first of its "TrueU" apologetics series aimed at college students.

Narrated by Stephen Mayer, director of the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture—an intelligent-design think tank—the curriculum includes two DVDs (each with 10 30-minute lessons) and a 64-page discussion booklet. It will be followed by Is the Bible Reliable? and Who Is Jesus?, plus a fourth DVD that has yet to be titled.

Kiomi Schweitz of the Garden of Read'N in Missoula, Mont., expects the new series to do well, saying anything from Focus generally sells well. The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith DVDs have, too, although not as much as the books, she said.

"But I think more apologetics DVD product would go well," Schweitz said. "I had a customer in yesterday looking for The Case for a Creator, which we had for $24.98 for a three-DVD series. He was really excited about that. If we had more of that, it would do really well."

Another trend is a form of counterinsurgency to the New Atheists, typified by the recent Zondervan release, The Rage Against God by British journalist Peter Hitchens.

In it, the brother of Christopher Hitchens—whose God is Not Great (Hachette Book Group, 2008) was a New York Times best-seller—attacks the arguments of anti-God enthusiasts.

Still, B&H's Howard said Christians owe their critics a nod of appreciation.

"The New Atheists thing is healthy for Christianity," Howard said. "It's forcing the conversation. It's a prime opportunity for apologists to step forward and say, 'You know what? Let's address this.' "

Your guide to the season’s major music events

Live music events continue to offer significant promotional support for Christian retailers who remain committed to the category.

NewSong’s Winter Jam 2010 tour—featuring Third Day, Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North, Fireflight and a guest speaker—drew a record, total attendance of more than 403,000 to its 44 January-March dates.

Meanwhile organizers have been putting the finishing touches on more than 30 summer events expected to draw large crowds from coast to coast.

Here is a guide to help stores know which artists will be in their area:

June 11-12

CROSSOVER FESTIVAL

Lake of the Ozarks, Mo.

Artists/speakers include: Abandon, Gracia Burnham, DecemberRadio, Fireflight.

June 12

SONFEST

Carowinds, Charlotte, N.C.

Artists include: Family Force 5, Fee, Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North.

June 16-19

ATLANTA FEST

Stone Mountain Park, Atlanta

Artists/speakers include: Brandon Heath, Shawn McDonald, Joseph Rojas, Newsboys, Matthew West, Tenth Avenue North.

June 16-19

ICHTHUS

Wilmore, Ky.

Artists include: Casting Crowns, Relient K, Switchfoot, Toby Mac.

June 19

JOYFEST

King’s Island, Mason, Ohio

Artists/speakers include: Fred Hammond, Bone Hampton, Martha Munizzi.

June 19

McDONALD’S GOSPELFEST

Newark, N.J.

Artists/speakers include: Kurt Carr, Roberta Flack, T.D. Jakes, Hezekiah Walker, Dionne Warwick, Vickie Winans.

June 23-26

ALIVE FESTIVAL

Mineral City, Ohio

Artists include: Steven Curtis Chapman, Leeland, Chris Tomlin.

June 24-26

BIG TICKET FESTIVAL

Gaylord, Mich.

Artists/speakers include: Casting Crowns, Jeffrey Dean, Brandon Heath, Newsboys, Parachute Band, James Scheer.

June 28-July 3

CORNERSTONE

Bushnell, Ill.

Artists include: David Crowder Band, Red, Skillet, Switchfoot, Toby Mac.

June 30-July 3

CREATION NORTHEAST

Mt. Union, Pa.

Artists/speakers include: David Crowder Band, Kari Jobe, Ron Luce.

July 1-3

SPIRIT WEST COAST

Monterey, Calif.

Artists include: BarlowGirl, Jeremy Camp, Shaun Groves, Jars of Clay, Phil Joel, Philmont, Third Day.

July 3

WONDER JAM

Toronto

Artists/speakers include: KJ-52, Hawk Nelson, David Nasser, Switchfoot.

July 7-11

LIFEST

Oshkosh, Wis.

Artists/speakers include: Shane Claiborne, Casting Crowns, Point of Grace.

July 8-10

SPIRIT FEST

Kings Island, Mason, Ohio

Artists include: Abandon, The Afters, Toby Mac, Third Day, Chris Tomlin.

July 8-10

KING’S FEST

Doswell, Va.

Artists include: Casting Crowns, Brandon Heath, Tenth Avenue North.

July 8-10

SPIRITSONG

Kings Island, Mason, Ohio

Artists include: David Crowder Band, Fireflight, Third Day, Chris Tomlin.

July 9-10

NIGHTVISION

Olathe, Colo.

Artists/speakers include: Francesca Battistelli, Kutless, Leeland, Third Day, Michael W. Smith, Third Day, Nick Vujicic.

July 14-17

SONSHINE FEST

Wilmar, Minn.

Artists include: David Crowder Band, Casting Crowns, Israel Houghton, Newsboys, Skillet, Superchick.

July 16-18

HILLS ALIVE

Rapid City, S.D.

Artists include: Desperation Band, Jars of Clay, NeedtoBreathe, Petra.

July 17

JOYFEST

Doswell, Va.

Artists/speakers include: Fred Hammond, Bone Hampton, Donald Lawrence, Sinbad.

July 17

HEARTFEST

Kansas City, Mo.

Artists/speakers include: Abandon, The Afters, KJ-52, MercyMe, Tom Richter.

July 21-24

CREATION NORTHWEST

Enumclaw, Wash.

Artists/speakers include: Zane Black, Kari Jobe, Ron Luce, Reilly, Matthew West.

July 24

JOYFEST

Kansas City, Mo.

Artists/speakers include: Fred Hammond, Bone Hampton, Donald Lawrence, J Moss.

Aug. 1-4

KINGDOM BOUND

Buffalo, N.Y.

Artists/speakers include: BarlowGirl, Fireflight, MercyMe, Jason Upton, Bill Wilson.

Aug. 4-7

SOULFEST

Gilford, N.H.

Artists include: Paul Colman, Israel Houghton, Jars of Clay, Switchfoot.

Aug. 5-7

ROCK THE DESERT

Midland, Texas

Artists/speakers include: Casting Crowns, Hawk Nelson, Matt Pitt, Seabird, Skillet.

Aug. 12-14

UNITY CHRISTIAN MUSIC FESTIVAL

Heritage Landing Park, Muskegon, Mich.

Artists include: Casting Crowns, Jeremy Camp, Third Day.

Aug. 13-14

PURPLE DOOR FESTIVAL

Lewisberry, Pa.

Artists/speakers include: LeCrae, Project 86, Thousand Foot Krutch, Renee Yohe.

Sept. 3-4

ROCK THE LIGHT

Kansas City, Mo.

Artists/speakers: TBD.

Sept. 3-5

LIFELIGHT FESTIVAL

Sioux Falls, S.D.

Artists include: The Almost, Lincoln Brewster, David Crowder Band.

Sept. 10-11

ROCK THE UNIVERSE

Orlando, Fla.

Artists include: Fireflight, Jeremy Camp, Jars of Clay, NeedtoBreathe, Newsboys, Relient K, Skillet.

Sept. 10-11

NIGHT OF JOY

Orlando, Fla.

Artists include: BarlowGirl, David Crowder Band, MercyMe, Tenth Avenue North, Chris Tomlin.

Sept. 18

POINTFEST

Sandusky, Ohio

Artists/speakers include: Casting Crowns, David Nasser, Family Force 5, Remedy Drive, The Skit Guys.