The Christian booksellers' trade association has announced the facilitator and presenters for its CBA Industry Conference.

To be held Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott in Indianapolis, the new winter show will feature Bob Pike, founder and chairman of The Bob Pike Group and Creative Training Techniques International, as the facilitator, CBA officials said.

Confirmed presenters at the conference include Steve Miller of The Adventure, a strategic-marketing consultancy. He will lead a session on Would You Do Business With You? Marketing to the Person on the Other Side of the Counter, and marketing consultant Bob Smith of The Genimation Group will help retailers and suppliers strategize on how to "close the gap" to grow sales.

Juliann Pavlovcic, vice president of Retail Forward, will present research on what retail will look like in 2015 and Pamela Danziger, author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience (Kaplan Business) and founder of Unity Marketing, will lead a session on Shops That Pop.

"We've designed an event that offers our industry forward-focused business intelligence and opportunities for connecting with other key contacts and peers," said CBA President Bill Anderson in a statement.

The conference replaces Advance, which had seen declining attendance in recent years and was scheduled for Jan. 28-Feb. 1, 2008, in Indianapolis. CBA said the new event is designed to bring retailers and publishers together but at a reduced cost. There will be no exhibit floor at the event, though new products will be presented in a special display and at suppliers' hospitality suites.

Attendance at the CBA Industry Conference is limited to 400, according to the booksellers' trade association. CBA is offering an early registration discount of $100 for retailers who register before Nov. 20.