International trade leader says foreign suppliers miss ‘nuances’ of market

Australia

The closure of a long-established wholesaler has caused concern for some independent Christian retailers.

They fear that the loss of Family Reading Publications (FRP) will add to the challenges they face with some American publishers selling their products exclusively to Australia’s two major Christian chains, Word and Koorong.

“Many independent Christian stores are being forced to close because they cannot be price competitive, with catalogs, because publishers are selling direct to chains without adequate regard to ensuring that all of Australia has fair access to their product,” said Christine Nicholson, of Greensborough Christian Book Centre in Greensborough, Victoria.

She said that U.S. suppliers should consider how their distribution arrangements in Australia impact the industry. “Independents are so important—maybe not in turnover/sales, but in outreach, hence new customers. They shouldn’t be underestimated.”

The end of FRP—which had also provided independents with catalogs—has “changed the dynamics of the trade,” said Fiona Spriggs, owner of Eagles’ Wings Christian Bookstore in Wollongong, New South Wales. “What we do in our smaller independent stores is no less important, but we lose local sales because people can get stock cheaper at the big chains.”

Christian Trade Association International President Jim Powell said he did not believe foreign suppliers intended to add to Australia independents’ challenges, but “it’s easy to say, ‘Let’s just let one of the major retail chains take care of the country for us.’ This approach misses the nuances ... and loses (an) important opportunity to increase the impact and distribution of our products.”

Craig Moulton, co-CEO of The Word Group Australia, said he recognized that FRP’s closure had been upsetting to independents, but some were now able to get better discounts through his company’s Word Australia distribution division than they had from their former provider, depending on the size of their orders.

“We are trying to do things to help stores as much as we can, while at the same time we need to be good stewards of what God has given us to do,” he said. His company—whose Word Bookstores has 19 locations—and Koorong were “not the enemies here,” he told Christian Retailing. In addition, he said, Word Australia had long been the main distributor for Christian music and films in the country, and serviced independents in those categories competitively.

Rod Schumacher, director of export international sales for Thomas Nelson, said since the closure of FRP, his company added CLC-Australia to its distribution network, which includes Word and Koorong.

“We’ve heard from several retailers that they would prefer to order from a wholesaler that is not also a retailer,” Schumacher said. “My goal is to offer retailers a wider variety of sources for Nelson product. Each wholesaler has unique strengths that enable them to serve the market, and I believe that when the retailer has the freedom to purchase from the wholesaler of their choice, the end consumer is better served.”

Looking to extend its reach following the FRP closure is Independent Distribution Solutions (IDS), part of the not-for-profit trust CMC Australasia Group that has represented some publishers and music companies for many years. IDS distributes to more than 300 Christian bookstores in Australia and New Zealand.

“Australasia is a large territory but with a small population,” said IDS CEO Stuart Duncan. “This, added to the fact that less than 5% of the population attend church, makes the economy of scale for distributors into the Christian marketplace very difficult.”

Meanwhile, InterVarsity Press (IVP) has entered into a distribution agreement with Rainbow Book Agencies , based in Victoria, Australia. Effective this month, Rainbow will distribute IVP titles throughout Australia.

“We’re grateful to have this new partnership in place to meet the changing needs of the Australian book marketplace,” said Jeff Crosby, IVP’s associate publisher of sales and marketing.

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