The company behind Lemstone Christian Stores has been renamed to emphasize its broader emphasis on Christian retailing operations beyond franchise outlets.

Lemstone LLC has become the Insight Retail Group, which includes two divisions in addition to the award-winning Lemstone Christian Stores group that has 23 stores in 15 states. Also, under the Insight umbrella are Church Bookstore Solutions and Insight Retail Associates serving stores that do not fit Lemstone's regular franchise model.

The new identity “is a recognition of the reality that we help Christian retailers succeed and that our store set is much broader than Lemstone franchise stores,” said President and CEO Scott Macdonald. “We think it clarifies who we are and what we are trying to do.”

Launched last year, Church Bookstore Solutions currently serves 14 church-based stores, while the Insight Retail Associates program has three recently opened member stores in North Hampton, N.H., Virginia Beach, Va. and Louisville, Ky.

The presentation of CBA Store of the Year prizes to a Lemstone business in each of the last two years illustrated that Lemstone operations “perform well as retailers,” Macdonald said. The systems and support that were part of that success could be applied to other Christian retail areas, he added.