The head of the largest Christian publishing company has detailed 10 reasons why he's “excited about Christian retail”-just days after the publisher announced plans to host a three-day “Open House” for only its top Christian retail accounts next spring.

In a March 1 posting to his blog at www.michaelhyatt.com/fromwhereisit, Thomas Nelson President and CEO Michael Hyatt said he has declared a company moratorium “on negative comments about Christian retail.”

For the last five years, he had “heard constant complaining about Christian retail … ” he wrote. “It is time for this to stop. … I want us to change our thinking. … Things are never going to improve until we learn to give thanks for what we already have and start focusing on the positive.”

Hyatt then listed what he considered the upside, including that the demographics are in Christian retail's favor; people are more drawn to spiritual things than ever; Christianity has great visibility in the public square; competition has made surviving retailers stronger; and the Christian retailers that are left are the best of the best.

He also noted that “Christian retailers are reporting great sell-through in recent months.” “This has been the most encouraging part … ” Hyatt said. “I think the tide has turned. Even though there weren't as many retailers at CBA Advance this year as I would have liked, the ones that I met there were upbeat and positive.”

Last month, Thomas Nelson announced plans to launch its Open House and withdraw from CBA Advance, the booksellers' trade association's winter event, which has seen dwindling retailer attendance in recent years.

After the announcement, Hyatt said in his blog that the criteria for stores to be invited to the Open House had not yet been determined, although he noted that “it will likely be volume-related.”

“Based on our data, about 125 retail accounts are responsible for 80% of the sales volume in this channel,” he said. “We obviously can't afford to invite and pay for everyone, so we have to focus on the stores that will provide the biggest return on our investment. We anticipate a good cross-section of chains, marketing groups and independents. All of these types of accounts are important to us.”

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