Zondervan's new Symtio digital initiative unveiled this week is to be followed by further new initiatives in the coming months and is the first fruit of changes at the company since Moe Girkins took over as president and CEO six months ago.

Other initiatives related to digital content are to follow, with the aim of further "making the pie bigger" at Christian retail "rather than trying to get a bigger slice of a shrinking pie," Girkins said yesterday. "That's what Symtio is all about, making the pie bigger."

Reaction to Monday's announcement from stores represented at the International Christian Retail Show had been overwhelmingly positive, she told Christian Retailing, with "95% of retailers saying, 'I want it now.' "

Offering take-home, credit-card-sized book card tokens that allow consumers to download audio titles at home, Symtio was tested in several stores before its launch and came to the market in just three months from conception. That was a result of an internal re-organization at the Grand Rapids, Mich., publisher that Girkins said had flattened the company's structure and was "about speed." In a changing business environment, it was important to be able to make decisions more quickly, she said.

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