Suppliers who invest overseas stand to reap spiritual and economic benefits

As the global economic crisis shakes nearly every industry, many are calling international sales a bright spot in the current Christian products market. Is this true? Yes and no—but mostly, yes.

In general, industrialized nations are feeling the slowdown more, while developing countries are affected less. CLC International—a distributor with branches worldwide—reports sales in Western countries are down, but overall sales are up 8-10%, and sales in some developing nations are even stronger. CLC's International Director Neil Wardrope reports that in Sierra Leone sales are up 30%.

Koos Fouché, a senior manager with South Africa-based Lux Verbi, which owns rights to the New International Version in Africa and distributes products from companies including Zondervan and LifeWay, reports similar findings. Sales in more developed South Africa are struggling, while those in many other African nations are not.

"Africa is growing as a market because Christianity is growing in Africa. Nations there are growing more stable politically," Fouché said.

Ghana-based Parchment House—the publishing arm of evangelist Dag Heward-Mills' Lighthouse Chapel International, which includes more than 1,000 churches in 54 countries—also credits its financial tactics with protecting the company from the brunt of the crisis. President Robert Dodoo said the economy has affected sell-in somewhat, but not company operations.

"We work on cash, building resources until we can afford to publish," Dodoo said.

The recession is affecting more economically developed regions—such as Western Europe, South Africa, Canada and Australia—in similar ways to the U.S. However, those countries also have viable, often long-established customer bases that still need and want Christian products.

Although the overall worldwide demand for Christian resources is growing, some U.S. business-as-usual approaches may not work well internationally. So, what can U.S. and other Western suppliers do to connect with this vast potential?

Strive for cultural relevance.

Cultures are different country by country and people group by people group.

"Learn how different cultures grasp and understand the gospel," Lux Verbi's Fouché said.

Two ways suppliers can make sure they connect with their target audiences are by honing re-published resources for that market—going beyond simple language translation—and finding and developing indigenous authors. Something written by a Western author could have a radically different—or even offensive—connotation in a different culture.

In Africa, Fouché said: "At the very least, Western publishers should have a local expert/editor to tweak products to mesh the message with the local culture and avoid danger areas."

Fouché suggests having local writers create introductions for re-published books, building relationships between the supplier and indigenous author, and presenting a Western book's relevance to that culture. He also recommends that Western authors with a desire to reach another nation should go there and learn firsthand about the people they want to reach.

Make products affordable.

Economies vary wildly from nation to nation. Barebones production costs in an industrialized country, plus shipping and import costs, make prices prohibitive in many developing nations.

One solution is to shift production in-country. This avoids high shipping and import fees, and puts production and sales figures on the same economy.

Another is to develop creative financing and distribution paradigms. It's not unusual for an international supplier to spring directly from a ministry and therefore use ministry-style tactics.

For example, Parchment House sells books direct through leadership conferences and negotiates terms to make them accessible for bookshops. As the publishing arm of an international ministry, the company may use donations, partnerships and volunteers—as well as benefit from its strong no—debt policy. One of Parchment House's distribution tactics is "Dag's Literature Crusade," which floods a given area with books through large discounts, partnering with pastors and other individuals who share its vision of "Let the Books Go."

One approach that several American publishers have tried is "international" editions (trade paperbacks of best-sellers priced lower than the Western hardcover). Barine Kirimi of Evangel Publishing, Kenya, points out the problems with this: "When publishers in the developed world insist on selling English versions of their books internationally rather than through rights to local publishers, the latter run out of resources and cannot afford to produce local translations. It's the English editions that are most profitable and help subsidize the cost of translation to local indigenous languages. In addition, international editions tend to still be higher-priced than local production."

Those in more economically developed nations can also be mobilized to help operations in countries with fewer resources. Money may be worth far more (in practical terms) somewhere else. For example, CLC's autonomous branches may cooperate by helping a branch in another country with a building project.

Know the market.

Take the time to learn as much as possible about Christian-industry operations in a nation you want to serve. Relationships between producers, distributors and retailers have evolved uniquely everywhere.

Government and customs regulations also vary widely. Some nations—such as mainland China, some Islamic countries and India—also have various requirements and restrictions on content, sales and/or marketing and promotion. Suppliers need to be able to navigate these successfully.

Invest in training.

In many countries, Christian retailers are ministry-minded individuals with little practical knowledge of finance, customer service, marketing or any of the myriad disciplines that make stores effective.

Suppliers can provide training helps—printed, online and/or in person—for retailers who sell their products in various nations. They can partner with in-country distributors who offer training, enable retailers to attend business seminars and support organizations—such as CTAI—that specialize in training international retailers and distributors. CTAI, a worldwide association of nations, companies and individuals, holds regional conventions in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America—all including training—and provides other international training opportunities.

Jesus commanded us to "go into all the world," and making Christian resources available globally is a significant facet of answering that call. The international market is also a steady bright spot in a gloomy economic picture. Savvy Christian-industry professionals who go the distance to make their products relevant and accessible around the globe will reap benefits in business now and in eternity to come.

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