Christian Retailing

GENI: A matter of perspective Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:58 AM America/New_York

A message from Geni Hulsey, president of the Church Bookstore Network:

How many times have you heard someone say, "It all depends on your perspective"? I saw a commercial on television recently that caused me to think about perspective and how much it can affect how we react/respond to a given situation.

The commercial was for Office Depot. It opened showing a small, independent barber shop where the owner was staring across the street to where a chain that offered $6 haircuts was opening a very large store.

Knowing he could not compete with those prices, the man went off to Office Depot to have a sign printed. Next we saw him hanging a sign saying, "We fix $6 haircuts." The last scene showed a "for sale" sign on the building previously occupied by the chain store.

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THE GATHERING 2010: Training, trade, togetherness Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:52 AM America/New_York
Internet sales, in-store marketing and staff recruitment and training are among the educational offerings in April at The Gathering 2010, Christian Retailing's annual event for store owners, managers and workers.

More than 20 workshops—including some specifically geared to church stores—are to be presented during the three-day program at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky., April 21-23.

Other topics will include working with volunteers, building bridges with church ministries and successful inventory control. There will also be presentations on how store partnerships with church libraries can benefit both ministries and effective management and merchandising of inspirational gifts.

The training track is to be complemented by opportunities for inspiration, worship and fellowship and business. Some 70 suppliers are expected to take part in the exhibition of key products and new releases. Stores placing qualifying orders will receive between $50 and $100 cash.

The event will begin with a time of joint prayer for the industry. "We're coming together to celebrate and to learn, but we want to start by bringing all our concerns and hopes to God, together," said Christian Retailing and The Church Bookstore Publisher Dave Condiff. "We may come from different backgrounds, but we are united in our desire to serve God through the distribution of Christian products."

Registration for The Gathering 2010—including meals&mdashis $150 through April 15 or free to stores placing qualifying orders at Christian Retailing's online Virtual Christian Restock Connection.

For more information, go to www.christianretailing.com/index.php/the-gathering.

 
REGIONAL REPORT: Ten tips from Texas Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:37 AM America/New_York
by Michael Wolmer

Our church bookstore has been operating now for almost three years, despite some horrible mistakes up front. We returned more than $40,000 to the church last year.

Here are my top 10 mistakes that, once realized and rectified, changed everything about our operation.

10. Instead of talking to my church members about what they thought we needed, I consulted with some industry professionals—talk to your church members! They are the ones with the money to do the shopping.

9. Offering special orders with a one-week turn-around was bad—instead offer them a shopping Web site. We make less on the purchase, but I also don't buy extra each week just to get free shipping.

8. You cannot get the best deal from just one distributor—use them all and use the one that gives you the best deal first.

7. You cannot run a bookstore on a credit card—get accounts with terms. Distributors want to do business that way and will work with you on terms and deals.

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INSIGHTS: Missions, possible! Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:29 AM America/New_York
by Sarah Yardley

Although supporting a passion for missions within the church is admirable, ways to connect great books about the topic with people in the pews can seem impossible. But it can be done.

Creatively introduce missions titles. Within both the Christian and secular world, there is a constant demand for the stories of real people. It is not uncommon for a biography to make The New York Times best-seller list.

Take time with your staff members to introduce them to the stories of great missionaries, and encourage them to likewise share these books with your customers. For example, if someone comes to the store looking to find Christian examples to use for a report on the history of the African people, you could connect her with the stories of Samuel Morris, David Livingstone and others in that context.

Don't isolate missions books to a special section. Within any church bookstore, missions books are probably already blended with other products on your shelves.

Authors like Lettie Cowman, who wrote Streams in the Desert (Zondervan), may not be traditionally associated with missions, although she wrote her book on the mission field. You could cross-merchandise biographies or autobiographies of missionary doctors, such as Chi Huang′s When Invisible Children Sing (Tyndale House Publishers), with your health section.

Recognize the impact of missions-related events. Whenever your church has a missions conference or a missionary come as a special speaker, that is a perfect opportunity for the bookstore to increase awareness of missions titles.

Sales on titles by these missionaries and authors will multiply once the congregation has firsthand experience with missionaries and their stories. Whenever a visiting speaker comes, be aware of all products-books, DVDs, CDs-that are related to their story.

-Sarah Yardley is general manager at Calvary Distribution in Santa Ana, Calif., a wholesale warehouse for Calvary Chapel churches and bookstores.

-Read the complete article at http://www.thechurchbookstore.com/a.php?ArticleID=16609.

 
PICTURE OF THE WEEK: On a roll Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:27 AM America/New_York
Displays and spinners on wheels can help stores that are squeezed for space. They can be rolled out into adjoining areas, "extending" the store and also drawing in people as they pass by—as here at The Well Bookstore at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kan.
 
ADVICE: Dear Betty Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:25 AM America/New_York
When you order apparel, how do you decide what sizes to stock?

Ordering apparel is always a tricky situation. I always take into consideration the time of year and the style of the company's product.

For instance, in winter months most apparel is long-sleeved and heavier. Thus, most people buy larger sizes than in the warmer months. In spring and summer, the clothes are lighter, so people wear a truer size to their normal size. Some companies' apparel sizes run small, so people will buy larger sizes than they normally would.

Apparel tends to be trendy, so I try to keep stock at a minimum and re-order frequently. In deciding what sizes to order there are two factors that are important. First, you need to know your customers. In time, you will get a feel for which customers order apparel, and you will see what sizes most of your frequent customers tend to be.

Secondly, after you place an order or two, decide on a ratio of sizes to order, and then stick with it. Periodically have a look at your apparel sales and see if your ratio formula still holds true. Make adjustments at that point.

Here is an example of apparel ratios:
Women's apparel-two XS, two S, four M, two L, two XL
Men's apparel-one S, two M, four L, four XL and two XXL.

Got a question for Betty Bookstore? Write to her at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 
CHURCH LIFE: Congregational cost-cutting Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:23 AM America/New_York
Church bookstores have come under scrutiny as leaders re-evaluate programs in the light of declining income because of the economic downturn.

Giving dipped an average 7% last year, according to a Barna Group study that found congregations dealing with the impact in three main ways:

Reducing spending: Roughly one out of every five churches (21%) cut spending. In addition to budget reductions, pastors indicated that they were watching spending, conserving more, shopping for better deals, eliminating non-essentials, freezing portions of the budget, re-evaluating vendors.

Cutting staffing and missions: One out of every six churches (18%) indicated that they had eliminated positions, reduced salaries, relied on more volunteer time and cut hours from full-time to part-time.

Reducing facility budgets: One of the least commonly reported adaptations was related to church buildings and facilities (3%). These types of alterations included scaling back a building plan, eliminating a planned project altogether, delaying construction, making better use of existing facilities, delaying upgrades of equipment, and deferring maintenance and repairs.

The study discovered that the types of churches most likely to reduce spending included boomer-led congregations and large churches (with more than 250 adults and budgets in excess of $500,000).

Congregations associated with traditionally charismatic denominations were less likely than average to cut spending, but were more likely to have resorted to eliminating staff positions.

Source: The Barna Group

-To read the full report, go to http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/18-congregations/334-the-economys-impact-on-churches-part-2-of-3-how-churches-have-adapted.

 
VIRTUAL CHRISTIAN RESTOCK CONNECTION Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:20 AM America/New_York
Running through March 30, Christian Retailing's Virtual Christian Restock Connection highlights some of the key new and backlist products from leading suppliers.

Among the companies presenting specials and offers are Bridge-Logos Foundation, Judson Press, Lighthouse Christian Products, Standard Publishing, Strang Book Group and Thomas Nelson.

In addition, extra editorial content features Christian Retailing editors talking with industry experts and leaders on issues such as inventory control and managing backlist.

Retailers who place an offer of $500 retail with a Virtual Christian Restock Connection exhibitor also qualify for a free registration, a $150 value, for Christian Retailing's The Gathering 2010, to be held April 21-23 at Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Ky.

Click here https://www.christianretailing.com/online/vcrc2010/ to find out more about Judson Press' spotlighted books and the Virtual Christian Restock Connection.

 
ANSWERS OF THE WEEK: Saying 'no' nicely Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:16 AM America/New_York
We asked how you handle awkward requests from members of the "church family" such as carrying self-published books.

One way to deal with this is to have a store policy that says: "We do not stock books that cannot be ordered from either a distributor or a publisher with whom we already do business." This policy keeps you from having to open an account with anyone in order to carry one item. This policy will make it easy to say no, as most of these types of books will not fit in these categories.

Another policy might be: "We do not carry products on consignment." This will deal with the person who tries to overcome the obstacle created by the previous one. Both of these policies make good business sense on their own, while giving you a good way to say no to these types of requests.

If an author does meet the requirements in the first policy, then we tell them to leave a copy of the book and we will review it for content to see if it fits our needs.

George Thomsen
Manager, Harvest Bookstore
Harvest Christian Fellowship
Riverside, Calif.

 

In regards to self-published authors, I absolutely would never say "no" to this type of request unless it fell outside of our beliefs or was harmful in some way.

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QUESTION OF THE WEEK: Easter expectations Print Email
Written by Staff   
Wednesday, 27 January 2010 10:15 AM America/New_York
As your church gets ready to celebrate the resurrection, how do you prepare your store for the high point of the Christian calendar? What products, promotions and displays have helped you make the most of this special time of the year?

Share your experiences, thoughts and ideas with others at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

 

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