Prepare to take in training opportunities at the International Christian Retail Show

Retailers headed to CBA’s International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis may think that this year’s theme—Your Show, One Mission—means they should see all the new products they can and place upcoming orders for their stores at show discounts. But organizers of the June 23-26 show say there’s a lot more to ICRS than just the exhibit floor. In addition to opportunities to network and worship together, ICRS offers educational sessions designed to help stores boost their business and increase their ministry in their communities and beyond.

“The workshops offered at ICRS are important because CBA is trying to educate on best practices related to the topics that our retailer members are telling us are the most important to them,” said Curtis Riskey, president of CBA.

No matter the genre, authors appeal to readers interested in learning through relationship

When the digital image of a three-story-high book cover appeared recently in New York City’s famed Times Square, it seemed to represent the emergence of women’s nonfiction in the Christian market—and beyond.

One Light Still Shines: My Life Beyond the Shadow of the Amish Schoolhouse Shooting (Zondervan, Oct. 1) is by Marie Monville, whose husband shot 10 Amish girls at a Pennsylvania school in 2006 before turning the gun on himself. At the onset of the shooting, his wife had just returned from leading a weekly prayer group.

“I think there’s a deeper interest in stories in general in our culture,” said Wes Yoder, whose Ambassador Agency represents Monville. “I think that people want stories that somehow inspire them and connect them to the real world.”

Although many women gravitate to Christian fiction, they also are exerting a stronger presence in nonfiction.

Considering why—or why not—Christian retailers should carry Spanish products

With the Spanish-language market growing—as evidenced by the Expolit show in Miami this month—many Christian retailers have tried carrying Spanish products in their stores. We asked several whether or not they carried Spanish products and, more importantly, why or why not. Here is what they had to say:

“We have a very modest Spanish language section. We have about 8 linear feet (two shelves on a 4-foot fixture) of Spanish Bibles, and a 16 linear foot section of books, music and other Spanish materials. Our store is not near the Spanish-speaking neighborhoods, so we are all the more a destination site for those customers. We also do not have anyone who is fluent in the language—I know a few words and phrases, but that’s about all. Those two reasons are primary as to why we do not carry more, but we do serve some customers periodically who can navigate bilingually.”

—John DeSaulniers Jr.
owner, Wellspring Christian Resources
Des Moines, Iowa

Needs of this growing demographic remain unmet in certain areas of the country

The world of Spanish-language Christian books is expanding not only in the titles published, but also in the number of distribution outlets. Companies like Editorial Vida (Zondervan), Grupo Nelson (Thomas Nelson), Editorial Unilit (Spanish House), B&H Español (B&H Publishing Group) and Casa Creación (Charisma Media) understand the importance of the Spanish market.

At Casa, we have published many of the Spanish titles that have become best-sellers with authors such as Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, John Eckhardt and Jentezen Franklin. These authors understand that Hispanics follow their ministries, watch their television programs and read their books. 

Customer demand also means that we need bookstores like Christ Centered Life Store in Fort Myers, Fla., and Christ for the Nations in Dallas, as well as distribution centers like Fuente de Vida with offices in Miami, Texas and California. Miami-based Luciano Distributors distributes nationwide in the U.S. and to some Latin American countries.

PURCHASING POWER 

There are 51.6 million Hispanics in the United States, according to the 2010 census. Hispanics have a purchasing power expected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2015, which would rank that demographic as the 13th largest economy in the world.

Hispanics are also the fastest-growing ethnic group in the U.S., with growth no longer coming from new immigrants, but from U.S. births—one in four children today are born to a Hispanic mother. And more Hispanic women than ever before are going to college. This, along with population growth, is contributing to their fast-growing purchasing power.

No longer are the Spanish speakers in the U.S. confined to border states and big cities. Today, nearly all states have some sort of Hispanic population.

Our sales consultant for U.S. Spanish bookstores has received many calls from places like Kansas, Oregon and Washington interested in buying directly from us because of the lack of Spanish Christian bookstores in their states. This is an opportunity that Christian bookstores cannot miss. Consider reaching out to Hispanic churches and make it known that your store can provide the resources they need.

HISPANIC HERITAGE

Proud of their cultural duality, Hispanics strive to communicate in Spanish and English and generally don’t favor one over the other as in the past. Therefore, a growing number of second- and third-generation Hispanics are seeking to learn Spanish and make certain their children grow up bilingual. 

For instance, I was born in Puerto Rico, and at the age of 10, we moved to New York. My mom always said: “At home, we speak Spanish. English is only when we are outside.”

 Of course, this was a great benefit for me because being bilingual has opened many doors, for which I’m grateful. Now I use this same principle with my own children.

With so many Spanish speakers in the U.S. and with more than 40% of population growth among Hispanics, the stage is set for an enormous increase in Spanish usage. This has sparked greater interest among U.S. citizens—as well as some backlash among English-only activists—but interest in learning Spanish is expected to rise. 

With more than 50 million people speaking Spanish in America, the United States is fifth on the list of countries with the most Spanish-speaking people. As a result, there is significant demand for Spanish literature—which is a big opportunity for Christian publishers and retailers. 

In fact, it’s not only in the U.S. where Spanish is popular. Spanish is an official language on four continents and is the mother tongue in 21 countries. In Europe, Spanish is the second most popular second language, after English. For example, TMC Communications in London reports that the Spanish market is growing, and spiritual revival is taking place among Hispanics in the United Kingdom.

RELATIONSHIP RETAIL

People are defined by the books that interest them. When such books are written in their native language, they are not only preferred, but often treasured. Our Casa Creación sales are increasing wherever there is a population density of Hispanics in the United States. 

We have  also had great success with our partnership with Hachette Book Group and with licensing opportunities. Vida partners with Editorial CLIE, which is one of the largest publishers in Spain that provides resources such as Bible dictionaries, commentaries and more.

Christian retailers will want to consider whether Spanish products will sell in their particular store. Let me offer some recommendations:

• Create a separate section for Spanish books so your Spanish customers know you are committed to addressing their needs. Keep in mind that when you say no Hispanics enter your store, perhaps they are not coming because they don’t know you sell Spanish books!
• Find out how many Spanish churches and Bible institutes are in your city. Have an employee who speaks Spanish visit Spanish-speaking churches and schools and start a relationship with them. To be successful in this market, you have to be relationship-driven. Ask the Spanish community what they need in books, Bibles, church supplies and gifts.
• Connect with them through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and other social media sites. Our marketing department is committed to helping our stores and distributor spread the word of our products through social media. Any store that needs assistance with this can contact our marketing coordinator, Tony Rivera, for resources to use online.

So, I challenge you to start carrying Spanish products in your store. With the growth of the Hispanic community, not only will reaching out bring in additional revenue, but also a significant ministry opportunity.

Meeting family needs in a ‘self-absorbed’ era

Authors advise moms and dads on raising children in today’s hyper-connected culture

With 25 million copies sold of his more than two-dozen titles, Family Talk’s Dr. James Dobson remains the most visible Christian parenting author a decade after he left Focus on the Family. While no other authors have assumed a similar mantle, there is a continuing need for parental guidance.

Perhaps the biggest challenge parents face is hyper-connected culture’s “more, faster” effect, said Brian Hampton of Thomas Nelson, now under the HarperCollins Christian Publishing umbrella.

“Many parents find themselves nurturing their families and dealing with the natural conflict and mistakes of daily life on the public stage of social media,” said Hampton, senior vice president and publisher.

Thirty years ago parents didn’t have to grapple with video games, the Internet, cyber-bullying or escalating violence, said Claudia Volkman, product development director of Servant Books, part of Franciscan Media.

Retail 2D captures and employs customer insight and product information

Honeywell’s Enzo Capobianco, EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) industry marketing manager, discusses the value of a two-dimensional retail strategy employing customer insight and product information. In Retail 2D, stores utilize information about products and consumers, while store associates become more customer centric and service focused.

Retail Challenges With a Product-focused Strategy

The current retail model is being challenged. It is a system based mainly on one dimension: the product.

According to this model, products are manufactured, distributed and sold to consumers who buy what they find on the shelves at local retail stores, stimulated by traditional promotional activities communicated using mass marketing media. It is a linear, push-based process, centered on the one-dimensional (1D) EAN/UPC bar code. Over the last 40 years, the standard adaptation of the EAN code by the industry has played a key role in the huge improvements achieved by retailers in their supply chain optimization. Still, retailers today lose millions of dollars due to two main issues:

• ?excess stock of unsolicited merchandise, which leads to increased discounting and lower margins and
• ?stock-outs on requested merchandise which leads to reduced sales and market basket size.

Over-discounting and empty shelves are the main consequences of a retail model focused on products, where sales forecasts are based on past sales results, rather than on what consumers expect to find in their favorite stores. 

Publishers of love and marriage books ‘speak life, truth and hope’ into relationships

While societal attitudes towards love and marriage may be shifting, the category remains one of the strongest in the Christian products industry. However, cultural debates don’t drive interest in this topic as much as the number of hurting people in society, said Lawrence Kimbrough, who edits Christian Living materials for B&H Publishing Group. 

“In no other publishing category do we have the opportunity to counteract this much personal pain or to cultivate this much personal joy than by speaking life, truth and hope into people’s marriages,” Kimbrough said.

B&H Books released the second edition of its best-selling The Love Dare in January—now with a free online marriage evaluation, new preface and reader testimonials—and will follow May 1 with the Love Dare Day by Day devotional. Associated with the film Fireproof, The Love Dare by movie-making brothers Stephen and Alex Kendrick has sold 5 million copies.

Kenneth Petersen, vice president and editor in chief of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, said the central role of marriage in relation to theology, spiritual life and the church makes the subject extremely important.