Zondervan head Scott Macdonald to serve in advisory role

Mark Schoenwald has been appointed president and CEO of HarperCollins’ new division, comprised of Zondervan and the newly acquired Thomas Nelson.

Formerly president and CEO of Thomas Nelson, Schoenwald will report to Brian Murray, president and CEO of HarperCollins Publishers Worldwide, and will serve on the HarperCollins executive committee.

“Mark is an experienced leader in the Christian publishing market, and we are thrilled to have him at the helm of our newly expanded Christian division,” Murray said. “The new division adds further scale and balance to HarperCollins’ overall portfolio, and Mark will work closely with the leadership teams of HarperCollins, Thomas Nelson and Zondervan to build on the individual strengths of each company.”

Scott Macdonald will leave his position as president and CEO of Zondervan and will serve in an advisory role. HarperCollins did not respond to an inquiry for comment on Macdonald’s position.

“I am grateful to Scott for his leadership and professionalism during his tenure with Zondervan,” Murray said. “He has achieved everything I asked him to achieve at Zondervan during a most challenging time in the company’s history.”

Under Schoenwald’s leadership at Nelson, the company saw both double-digit revenue and operating income growth, and has had several titles place as New York Times best-sellers, including Heaven Is for Real and Jesus Calling.

Schoenwald said he feels “blessed to have the opportunity to lead” HarperCollins’ Christian publishing division.

“I am fortunate to move into this role with the benefit of a strong foundation to build on, coupled with many talented people on both teams,” he said. “I anticipate a smooth transition as we begin to work together, optimizing all strengths to create an even more successful publishing program for these two distinct brand which, combined, have 300 years of publishing experience and history.”

Schoenwald will continue to be based in Nashville, and will spend part of his time in Grand Rapids, Mich., where Zondervan will continue its operations. However, it has only signed a one-year lease.

Zondervan and Nelson each will continue to publish its respective brands and maintain its own editorial focus, “competing as they have in the past, but collaborating where appropriate,” a company statement said.

HarperCollins has “a good record of increasing the value of the companies they purchase,” said David Lewis, executive vice president, sales and marketing at Baker Publishing Group. “I was working at Zondervan the year they bought that company. Our benefits increased, our travel expenses went down—thanks to the size of News Corp.—and we had additional money to invest into the business. It is likely that something similar will happen with Nelson.”

Mark Kuyper, president and CEO of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association said he sees Schoenwald as “an incredibly capable and gifted leader, and I look forward to working with the Zondervan and Thomas Nelson teams in the future. I'm excited to see how both houses will grow under his direction.”

Last fall, HarperCollins agreed to buy Thomas Nelson, but did not disclose the purchase price. In mid-2010, an investor group led by Kohlberg & Co. bought majority ownership in the Nashville publishing company.

Covenant Group member store started with God’s call to a machinist

A machinist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Curtis McGinnis believed he was called by God to do something very different than his day-to-day work. In 1976, he saw the first fruits of his obedience at the opening of the original Knoxville, Tenn., location of Cedar Springs Christian Stores, which are today part of the Covenant Group.

“He knew nothing about the bookstore business,” said Vicki Geist, daughter of Curtis and Lois McGinnis who was 15 when her parents started the store. Geist moved to Ohio for a time and became a sales rep for Enesco when Precious Moments were big, and is now a buyer for the store who oversees personnel and manages the store layout as well.

“When you are called, you begin to listen, read and learn how to be the best at what you are called to,” Curtis said. “We were very fortunate to have a lot of good people to help us, and with the help of CBA, we managed to do what we have done.”

He kept his Oak Ridge job for seven years, and his wife also continued her job there. Starting at age 15, their daughter and her aunt worked at Cedar Springs’ first store, the 1,600-square-foot Kingston Pike location that has since gone out of operation.

Eventually, Cedar Springs grew to three East Tennessee locations in Knoxville and Oak Ridge, but along the way went through many changes and expansions.

Cedar Springs’ current locations include an Oak Ridge store bought in 1992 with a partner who were later bought out and the Clinton Highway location in Knoxville that opened in 2001. Oak Ridge is composed of 5,400 square feet and Clinton Highway 8,000 in total.

The main store—a free-standing location at 504 N. Peters Road in Knoxville—was opened in fall 1995 with a 16,500-square-foot sales floor. Together with office space and two conference rooms, Peters Road is comprised of approximately 35,000 square feet in total.

As with many businesses today, Cedar Springs’ sales have decreased in some areas. Whereas there used to be a buyer for each department, now Vicki and her brother, Link McGinnis, have assumed many responsibilities and wear many hats.

Link, whose expertise is in computers and who formerly worked for The Limited, oversees Cedar Springs’ information technology needs, manages facilities and buys Bibles and homeschool products as well as handling replenishment.

Lois retired a decade ago, while Curtis, still comes into work a couple of days a week, having “semi-retired” four years ago. And though Cedar Springs started as a family business, Link gives credit where credit is due.

“The success of Cedar Springs as in all of the Christian stores around the country really rides on the backs of a lot of really great team members,” he said. “Our employees aren’t just retail clerks—they really care about their customers and hold their role in serving customers as very important. Without the dedication and love for what they do from the back rooms to the front door, a mom-and-pop Christian bookstore in Knoxville, Tenn., would not have this story.”

One area where the store serves the family is the homeschool business. The main store carries 500-600 feet of product from the top names in curriculum and retains Send The Light as its primary distributor.

“We carry a very wide variety,” Link said.

At a curriculum swap held once a year in June, homeschoolers reserve a table for free and choose from each other’s used items while picking up what they need for the coming school year. The swap was so popular this year, it spilled into the receiving department and out into the store’s parking lot. The store also does a booktable at a homeschool event in Knoxville. Homeschoolers receive a free card at these events, or it can be purchased for $5 at other times, for future discounts at the store.

Cedar Springs also resells used homeschool product it buys from customers, who then received “Cedar Springs cash” to purchase any product in the main store.

With 35-foot ceilings at the main location, one of the distinctives is how the store is divided into “houses,” including a kids’ house, a Bible house and a “gift mansion.”

In the gift mansion, jewelry is its biggest category, and apparel—comprised only of T-shirts—is growing more than any other. About six years ago, the store decided to expand beyond Christian lines to carry costume jewelry—and it also carries such general items as women’s wraps and a tunic-style dress that is useful for mission trips, Geist said.

Tees are “increasing 20-40% monthly,” she noted, though she cannot put her finger on a particular reason for the growth. Along with offering Kerusso, Red Letter 9 and other lines, it is selling the “It’s a Girl Thing” apparel, which is being tested at Cedar Springs and in the Mardel chain. The store also purchases promotional shirts for special occasions like Mother’s Day, which sell very well.

As with homeschool products, Cedar Springs has a resell section for fiction, but in all three stores. It also does a special fiction sale in the summer that is promoted by direct mail, but with e-books gaining in the market, fiction has become “the hardest-hit category,” Geist said.

“In June of this year, we sold half of the number of fiction books that we sold last year,” she added. But overall, “even though it’s declined, we still do 25% of sales in books,” Link observed.

Though the store has had its challenges in areas such as Sunday school curricula and fiction, it has become more innovative and has seen success in multiple categories.

Like many stores, Link said: “We want to hang on to every bit of a business we can.”

Cedar Springs Christian at a glance

Years in existence: 36

Size: 35,000 square feet at the free-standing store, including a 16,500-square-foot sales floor

Staff: 65 mostly part-time employees at all locations

Opening hours: 10 a.m.-9 p.m., Monday-Saturday at the main store

Workshop leaders Dan Balow and Larry Haege provide practical suggestions for selling ebooks in physical Christian retail stores

Christians are embracing computer tablets and e-readers at a faster pace than most consumers, according to CBA-commissioned research by the Barna Group. 

Barna Group President David Kinnaman summarized the findings of The Rise of E-Reading: What Digital Content Means for Customer Loyalty, Products and Retailing study during the opening general session. Dan Balow, publisher at eChristian, and Larry Haege, president of Innovative, also discussed the report during their ebooks workshop.

Kinnaman shared that some 44% of pastors, 30% of Christian store shoppers and 25% of practicing Catholics reported that they owned a mobile tablet device or e-reader, compared to 18% of shoppers who don’t visit Christian stores. 

The survey found that the most popular device was the iPad—44% among Christian store shoppers. Additionally, nearly 70% of Christian store shoppers said they would definitely or probably buy an ebook or digital download from a Christian store. Kinnaman encouraged retailers to embrace the technological changes and master digital marketing. 

More than 800 Christian stores are now able to sell ebooks through their own websites. The physical store is still the best option for book discovery and sales, according to Curtis Riskey, CBA executive director. During the “Stores as Ministry Connectors” session, he said brick-and-mortar stores offer “a sense of place and engagement.” 

At the ebooks workshop, Balow offered practical suggestions to retailers to cultivate ebook-buying traffic, including using ebook signage next to physical books and conducting reading groups using e-readers only.

For more information on the ebook study, visit www.barna.org.

Foreign publishers, retailers, suppliers and distributors encouraged to ‘be consumer-centric’

A panel discussion during the convention pondered the “myriad of challenges” facing international publishers, retailers, suppliers and distributors.

During CBA and Christian Trade Association International’s (CTAI) inaugural International General Session: International Business Vision, Chris Johnsen, founder of Christian Art Distributors based in South Africa, moderated a panel that discussed findings from an international business survey conducted by CBA and CTAI.

Panelists included Paul Bootes, managing director of Koorong, Australia’s largest Christian retailer; Modupe Ehirim, president of the Christian Booksellers Association Nigeria; Thomas Tang, general secretary of Christian Communications in China; and Melvin Rivera Velázquez, interim head of the new global Bible publishing unit of the United Bible Societies.

Johnsen noted a “myriad of challenges” facing suppliers and retailers outside North America, including the weakness of foreign currencies versus the U.S. dollar, a plethora of online and mobile options for shoppers, print-on-demand publishing and the continued growth of digital books.

“Christian retail has come to a fork on the road,” Johnsen said. “The day and age of the traditional retailer is over. We cannot determine the channel anymore. We must be consumer-centric.”

Comfort Tonkumoh Isokrari, managing director of Wisdom Books in Ikeja, Nigeria, agreed. 

“This made me understand what happens in other countries. We have very similar challenges. We’re all in this together.”

Mark Hutchinson, president and CEO of British Columbia, Canada-based Blessings, was the featured speaker during CTAI’s Global Worship Gathering.

Hutchinson developed a multimillion-dollar carpet-cleaning franchise, then sold it to Home Depot before entering the Christian products industry in 2006. Buying a bankrupt company with a $2.1 million debt, he took Blessings from a chain of 27 corporate and franchise stores to three physical outlets and an online store whose sales volume is a third of the larger former group.

Speaking from Matt. 25:14-28 about the parable of the talents, Hutchinson said: “We are all in sales; we are all farmers. Our goal is to sow seed, and sow it well where we have been planted.”

He then shared several ways how Christian retailers and suppliers can be good stewards in business, including identifying their biggest fear, being flexible, living their passion, crafting a marketing message and being creative.

“Serve well, but not pushy,” Hutchinson said. “Humility underpins everything. … People buy people before any product or service.”

Michael Berghof, publisher of Copenhagen Publishing House in Copenhagen, Denmark, said Hutchinson gave “a very well-thought and practical introduction to what it means to be Christians in business.” 

“It’s not a journey without struggles and problems, but a journey where God is with us and wants to use us as His good stewards,” he told Christian Retailing.

Veteran workshop leader sees an invasion of apps and homeschool customers trading up for better value

Best-selling children’s author and educator Mary Manz Simon delivered the latest news in children’s trends, coupled with the wildly popular supplier product giveaway, Tuesday afternoon in her 18th consecutive CBA international convention program.

Emerging technology dominated the talk, but while ebooks are surging in the general market, Simon says the app invasion is a big thing in the Christian market’s new kid products. 

“It’s an ‘appy’ time,” she said.

The Beginner’s Bible from Zonderkidz is coming soon with a free app and free initial story pack. Also, “Five Love Languages” author Gary Chapman made his first appearance at a children’s trend seminar, introducing his first Northfield Publishing children’s book, A Perfect Fit for Peyton, where five pets discover their personal love languages, with a free app and digital pop-ups. 

Simon pointed out that reaching new forms of families is a strong trend with “grandfamilies,” involved grandparents who live miles away from their grandchildren; “mombassadors,” moms who are engaged in product information through various technologies before they even enter the store; and next-generation dads, who are spending more time than ever with their kids, being catered to with marketing strategies and product releases.

Bill Reese, owner of the Working Title Agency, recommended that retailers implement 360 branding. 

“Christian product companies sometimes have the shotgun approach to selling; they throw it out there and see what sticks, and if it does, they go after it,” he said of the practice that is “not healthy.” 

Reese suggested that retailers pick a product or a brand and get behind it, leaving it on display for more than two weeks. 

Today’s economy is dictating many trends, Simon said. Products that have resale ability are wildly popular, especially for moms looking for a good deal. One example given was Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Mich., which buys books from customers, integrates them into the store shelving and resells them for 40%-70% off retail. 

“Today’s consumers factor resell value into the purchase price,” she said, adding that today’s homeschoolers are an excellent example of “re-commerce” or reverse commerce, where they trade up or trade off products. 

“Homeschoolers zip through books, and when they start the first book, they may read every book in the series,” she said. “They might not be able to afford two new books, but might buy one new and one used one.” 

Simon encouraged retailers to take part in their own version of a growing trend available in 24 states called Little Free Libraries. The concept is for people to pay it forward and take a book for free and then return another book. She envisions stores using it to promote outreach or evangelism by suggesting customers buy a single copy of a book for themselves and donate one for a library or ministry. 

“It’s a form of upselling that is growing,” she said. 

Simon reported strong general market interest in books that combine adult and teen interests, as well as interest in dystopian or counter-utopian titles. The Christian market has positive alternatives to The Hunger Games and other general market books, but customers need to be able to find them, she said. 

Simon said the core Christian message is still that “we are passionate about connecting children to Jesus Christ.”

ICRS Thumbs Up:

• For the overall positive attitude of retailers and suppliers about the show.
• For the Orlando, Fla., location, making it easier for attendees to take a vacation too.
• To Rend Collective Experiment bringing a spirit of joy to the Worship Now service.
• To Phil Vischer as host of the New Voices Showcase.
• To CBA, for honoring the late Charles Colson with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
• To the Christy Awards for offering the keynote to Thomas Nelson’s Allen Arnold, who promotes the power of story.
• To the choice of Orlando Children’s Church as the recipient of this year’s offering.
• For the availability of seating at several tables and chairs at the CBA booth.

Thumbs Down:

• For the low attendance at the Sunday night worship service.
• For the low attendance at “Retailer Rx: Ask the Experts” workshop.
• For the poor quality of food served at the Orange County Convention Center.

Chuck Wallington shared tips to help stores ‘figure out what works’

A third-generation Christian retailer encouraged approximately 40 of his fellow retailers to be relevant in today’s culture. 

In the “Retail Trends: What Do Your Customers Say?” workshop, Covenant Group founder and President Chuck Wallington shared tips and pointers to help Christian retailers become “the preferred choice of modern customers.”

“Today’s shopper is more empowered than ever,” said Wallington, owner of Christian Supply in Spartanburg, S.C. “They can do more with what’s in their pockets. … What do we do about it?

“If you’re looking for a silver bullet, the Lone Ranger died a long time ago. The answer is different for each one of us. We have to figure out what works.”

Wallington discussed his five “ex-factors in retail trends”: Examine (look at your store through your “customers’ eyes”); Exploit (find ways to leverage your brick-and-mortar advantage over online competitors); Expand (find products you “can own” and get decent margin with them); Express (find ways to connect with your customers through old-fashioned media such as thank-you cards and new media such as Facebook and Twitter); and Exit.

“If you’re not going to change, you might as well exit,” said Wallington, whose Covenant Group offers ebooks and recently launched a mobile app. “The good old days are not coming back. … We absolutely have to make it. I encourage you to stay the course and finish the race.”

Joanne Sheehan, manager of Promise Book Shoppe in Tarpon Springs, Fla., said that Wallington’s bullet points “help me apply and retain what I learned for our shop,” she said. “I’m now seriously looking into ebooks.”

Approximately two-dozen retailers received a dose of “usable ideas” from experts in the Christian product industry.

The workshop “Retailer Rx: Ask the Experts” sought to help retailers discuss and overcome critical operational challenges by connecting with personnel in marketing and events, gift merchandising, lease negotiations, technology and store operations.

The informal session featured Suzanne Kuhn, owner of author events company Suzy Q, with 20 years’ experience with a regional bookstore chain; Sherry Morris, marketing manager for Carpentree; Dale Willerton, founder and president of The Lease Coach; Tim Johnson, president of Ideakindler; and Sue Smith, store manager of Baker Book House in Grand Rapids, Mich.

Louis McBride, Bible/academic buyer for Baker Book House, told Christian Retailing that he “came to learn how to increase our social media.”

“Suzanne Kuhn provided more than I could have imagined in a short amount of time,” he said. “I’m informed and inspired.”

Cathy Stricklin, owner of the Lord’s Store in Tridelphia, W.Va., which will open in October, attended the workshop with her daughter, Rachel.

“I like that we were able to speak with each speaker/specialist,” Stricklin said. “The speakers offered down-to-earth, simple suggestions. They were usable ideas.”

Some Christian retailers still hesitant, but others show interest in artisan products

For the first time at ICRS, fair trade companies basked in the spotlight through a panel, workshop and dedicated floor space. 

ICRS organizers partnered with several fair trade companies to educate buyers on the values, standards and inspirational stories behind fair trade products. The participating companies were Exotic World Gifts, Ten Thousand Villages, Global Handmade Hope, Fair Trade Fashion Designs and Guancasco. They offered jewelry, purses, Christmas ornaments and many other handmade products produced by artisans in countries such as Nepal and Ethiopia. 

“People are not always sure what fair trade is, so we think it’s important to share at least four bullet points with the customer,” said Cynthia Glensgard, president of Global Handmade Hope. “Those four are that fair trade products use no child or slave labor, are produced under good working conditions, promote gender equality and offer fair and living wages.” 

Paul Kuntz, manager of Arrowhead Parable Christian Store in Johnson City, N.Y., and Liz Allen, founder of Exotic World Gifts, led the panel and conducted a fair trade workshop. The panel showed what to look for when choosing to partner with fair trade organizations, such as membership in World Fair Trade or Fair Trade Federation. They explained that there is no certification of fair trade products, only fair trade foods, and offered other ways that retailers can be discerning. 

Likewise, the retailer workshop, led by Allen and Kuntz, highlighted the benefits of including fair trade products in Christian retail stores.

Shannon Hackman, new business and festival sales coordinator, said buyers were most interested in overtly Christian items. She feels there is a “learning curve” for retailers to understand that all fair trade products are “inspirational” in nature.

Some suppliers see products without scripture as a help to build Christian retail traffic in today’s economy

The gift area at the International Christian Retail Show drew heavy traffic as a result of vendor giveaways, artist signings and 34 new exhibitors showing their wares at Debut Avenue.

After Abbey Press scaled back its booth for several years, the company returned its highly visible church steeple as the focal point of its booth, a decision made by new General Manager Greg Tate, a 20-year employee who hoped to “get the company back to its core and carry on the traditions of its founding monks.” 

While many returning vendors scaled back their show space, others used it as an opportunity to get creative with the space they had. Heritage Lace, situated on a corner space, cleverly used a large bakery display case to showcase its new “Petits Fours” line of soaps and towels. With the tagline “deliciously packaged,” the line uses creative packaging that resembles real-life desserts such as cupcakes, milkshakes and sorbets to house a towel with soap, bath crystals or bath bomb. 

“We are focusing on the popular bakery trend to create a great gift in the price point that people are looking for—the $10-$20 range,” said Dan De Cook, co-CEO of Heritage Lace.

Practical gifts for the home saw a surge at the show. Several textile companies offered pillowcases with scripture on them. Faceplant Prayers, a newcomer to the show, packages its pillowcases in a fabric envelope with a ichthus symbol, while another new vendor, Celestial Slumber, features a verse for the morning on one side of the pillowcase and one for night on the opposite side.

In the kitchen, Brownlow Gifts’ spatulas and trivets drew attention, even without scripture. 

“Stores are selling some products without scripture, not because they have lost their heart for ministry, but because they are trying to be practical and build foot traffic,” said company President Paul Brownlow.

The stain-resistant, dishwasher-safe spatulas have a conversion table on the back and retail for $7, $3 less than similar products at Williams-Sonoma and other retailers. Retailers at the show loved the price point and requested designs with scripture. 

“High-end gifts were tapped 10 years ago at $25, and now the sweet spot is in the $10-$15 range,” said Joanne Sheehan of the Promise Book Shoppe in Tarpon Springs, Fla., who was shopping at the Brownlow booth. 

Dicksons’ exclusive artist Emily McNabb offered a new look in Christian market with wood wall plaques that used large bold, handwritten letters and small, hand-cut block letters to spell out a Bible verse. The line was reminiscent of Pinterest, the popular social media photo-sharing website where people go to share ideas or “pin” others.

Black and white products were also noticeable throughout the gift section, including Dicksons’ “iBelieve” and “Hidden in My Heart.” 

Carpentree continued a popular event at the trade show with their Merchandising Moments, 20 minutes at its booth showing retailers take-away merchandising tips. 

Artist signings included Vic Kennett, CEO of Kerusso, signing copies of his new book Change Your Shirt, Change the World; Rose Mary Harris, creator of the “Really Woolly” line, signing new cards as part of the revival of the whimsical brand; and Abbey Press artist Sharyn Sowell signing journals while introducing “Thirsting for the Word” tea cups and tray sets. 

First-time exhibitors received heavy traffic at the show. Shoppers followed their noses to the Grilled Cheesus booth where inventor Meg Sheehan served up samples of grilled cheese with her sandwich maker that makes an impression of Jesus on the bread. Deirdre Handcrafted Jewelry, in business for more than 20 years, had a steady stream of traffic to view her extensive line of pewter and sterling silver jewelry. 

In addition to the typical perks of free shipping, product displays and in the case of Bob Siemon Deigns, lead-free pewter keyrings, Lighthouse Christian Products offered weary shoppers refreshments and foot massages, while Every Good Gift gave away a video camera and Kerusso, an iPad.

Innovation in products drew customers to DaySpring’s booth where one store ordered three displays of its “Blooming Expressions” the first day of the show. Designed from parent company Hallmark, with the press of a button, one of three flower designs blooms to reveal a message to the recipient. 

Colorful T-shirts for girls with a small logo on the front and large, fun artwork and witty sayings on the back are a new trend picked up by newcomer It’s A Girl Thing and veteran Kerusso in its 10-design “Cherished Girls” line. 

Gregg Gift Co. unveiled a line to Christian stores that already has high visibility from the word of mouth received by Christian music artists and sports figures that already wear the “LETGOdwork” line. The 45 designs are available on trucker hats, beanies, T-shirts, hoodies and bracelets. 

“These are targeted to reach the next generation of youth, exactly the market that Christian bookstores should be trying to reach,” said General Manager Jane Charette.