Zondervan is exiting the 3-D portion of the inspirational gift business with the elimination of its Inspirio brand as the company continues to focus on and grow its publishing business.

“As we expanded in the gift business, it became very apparent that it presented challenges, operational requirements and expertise different than our core publishing business,” President and CEO Doug Lockhart said in a statement. “This move was a difficult one as it impacts part of the Zondervan family, but it became apparent this is the right move for the company as we focus on our core competencies.”

All current Inspirio orders will be filled, and Zondervan will continue to sell Inspirio products until its inventory is depleted. Inspirio's gift books and Bible covers will continue to be available from Zondervan and retain their current SKUs.

The Grand Rapids, Mich., publisher declined further comment, including what will happen to Inspirio's staff.

Inspirio and Zondervan have seen a number of significant management changes in the last year. Senior Vice President Caroline Blauwkamp retired in August 2005 after helping launch Inspirio in 2000 and building annual sales from $200,000 to a multimillion-dollar business. Val Buick, a former Family Christian Stores gift buyer, replaced Blauwkamp as Bruce Ryskamp was succeeded as president/CEO by Senior Marketing Vice President Lockhart.

Selling to both the general and Christian markets helped Inspirio have its finger on the pulse of the gift industry. In its early days the company posted in-depth trend information on its Web site and made new product information available at least six months before the scheduled release date.