Fashion jewelry, T-shirts and gift books are among the top-selling Christian gifts, according to several gift companies surveyed by Christian Retailing.

Gardenfire apparel company owner Jayme Brandt reported “strong sell-through for classic gospel messaging and a decline in the trendy, watered-down fashion looks,” signaling a change in the market. “It appears that many are not looking for generic hope and faith reflections as they were in the past four years. Even though some of the big box stores are offering inspirational designs on many products, you will notice for the most part the messages have been censored in a way that is palatable for people of all or many faiths. In the CBA stores, I am encouraged to see an increase in salvation, eternal life, testimonial and invitational design.”

Christmas gift buying's impact can be seen in the latest bestsellers list from the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA), where four of the top 20 titles are different editions of Sarah Young's bestselling devotional, Jesus Calling.

The original edition of the Thomas Nelson title was the second biggest seller for the week ending Dec. 17, according to sales data from ECPA's Pubtrack service. The deluxe edition made No. 8, one spot ahead of the large-print deluxe edition. Children's edition, Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions for Kids, was 16th.

The rest of the top 20 were: 1. One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan), 3. Heaven Is for Real by Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson), 4. Forgotten God by Francis Chan (David C Cook), 5. Nearing Home by Billy Graham (Thomas Nelson), 6. Leaving, “Bailey Flanigan Series” No. 1 by Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan), 7. Heaven Is for Real for Kids by Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson), 10. Through My Eyes (hardcover) by Tim Tebow (Zondervan), 11. Not a Fan by Kyle Idleman (Zondervan), 12. Crazy Love by Francis Chan (David C Cook), 13. Longing, “Bailey Flanigan Series” No. 3 by Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan), 14. Through My Eyes (paperback), 15. The Resolution for Men by Stephen Kendrick, Alex Kendrick, Randy Alcorn (B&H Publishing Group), 17. Every Day a Friday by Joel Osteen (FaithWords), 18. Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman, Jim G. Reimann (Zondervan), 19. Courageous by Randy Alcorn, Alex Kendrick, Stephen Kendrick (Tyndale House Publishers), 20. The Resolution for Women by Priscilla Shirer (B&H Publishing Group).

Top 10 fiction: 1. Leaving, 2. Longing, 3. Courageous, 4. The Tehran Initiative by Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House Publishers), 5. Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (Waterbrook/Multnomah Publishing Group), 6. Learning, “Bailey Flanigan Series” No. 2 by Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan), 7. A Lineage of Grace by Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers), 8. A Log Cabin Christmas Collection by Margaret Brownley, Wanda E. Brunstetter, Jane Kirkpatrick (Barbour Publishing), 9. Her Mother's Hope, “Marta's Legacy Series” No. 1 by Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers), 10. Her Daughter's Dream, “Marta's Legacy Series” No. 2 by Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers).

Top 5 Bibles: 1. NIV Adventure Bible, softcover (Zondervan), 2. ESV Study Bible, natural brown TruTone (Crossway), 3. The Story, NIV, hardcover (Zondervan), 4. The Story, NIV: The Bible as One Continuous Story of God and His People, chocolate/tan Italian Duo-Tone (Zondervan), 5. NIV True Images: The Bible for Teen Girls, chocolate/bubble gum Italian Duo-Tone (Zondervan).

The man who brought a Canadian Christian bookstore chain back from the brink is offering business coaching to other Christian retailers.

Mark Hutchinson, President and CEO of British Columbia-based Blessings, has launched Thrive RDS (Retail Development Services) in partnership with wholesaler David C Cook Distribution Canada. The new program will debut Jan. 1, 2012.

For $200 a month per store, participants get access to online training sessions, a library of other resources, email support and 80% off a second year's membership if they don't experience growth based on what they have learned at the end of the first year.

Thrive RDS is “a practical business building tool to help retail stores grow sales, customer traffic and increase average transactions,” said Hutchinson. “I am passionate about our industry and want to do all I can to provide practical hands-on business development training specifically focused to our industry,” he added.

Also an accredited preaching pastor, Hutchinson developed a multimillion dollar carpet cleaning franchise before entering the Christian products industry in 2006. Buying a bankrupt company, he took Blessings from a chain of 27 corporate and franchised stores to three physical outlets and an online store whose sales volume is a third of the larger former group.

In an interview in the November/December issue of Canadian business magazine, Advantage, Hutchinson said: “We have completely re-engineered the whole structure... We're yielding just over $5 million in revenues annually. We are on a strong footing and growing year after year.”

Greg Tombs, Cook's Managing Director of Global Distribution, said that the company was supporting the effort because without a Canadian CBA for Christian retail stores, there was no forum for Christian retailers to discuss retail strategies and initiatives to improve their industry.

“Market conditions have changed dramatically and rapidly in the last few years,” he said. “Without instruction/training on the new opportunities technology offers and without the regular reminders of the fundamentals of excellent customer service, merchandising, marketing initiatives and the like, retailers can get left behind. improve their industry.

“We also feel that the opportunity to come together as a community of like-minded retailers for the purposes of growth and long-term sustainability is very beneficial.”

For more information, go to http://www.blessings.com/thrive

Integra Interactive plans to double its library of independent artist performance tracks available for in-store burning, after a successful first year.

Launched with a handful of performance tracks from Carroll Roberson and Steve Amerson, the iSing catalog offered through Integra's myMEDIA BurnBar has expanded to more than 30 artists and almost 400 titles. Among those whose songs are available are Clint Brown, Terry MacAlmon, Jeff Deyo, Allen Asbury, Crystal Lewis, Out of Eden, The Primitive Quartet and Jason Gray.

Integra is planning an “aggressive” expansion of the program next year, with a goal of doubling its roster of artists and song titles before summer.

 The iSing series is “the perfect example of how a digital delivery system eliminates the manufacturing and distribution costs of a physical product yet still delivers it in physical form for the end purchaser,” said David Amster, Integra's Chief Innovation Officer.

Don Noes, the company’s senior vice president of business development, said that more than 40% of all performance track sales tracked by SoundScan are handled by the myMEDIA platform. The system is in nearly 500 Christian retail stores, including LifeWay Christian Stores and Mardel Christian and Education.

“The iSing series is now our eighth biggest seller out of 16 companies that we track, ahead of series such as iWorship (Integrity Music) and PROformance tracks (Mansion Entertainment),” Noes said.

Greta MacAlmon, Managing Partner of MacAlmon Music, said: “We have been extremely pleased with Integra Interactive as an avenue to distribute performance tracks to a niche market that would otherwise be out of our reach. Integra has been a great partner in getting our music out.”

VeggieTales adventures are to be released in Blu-ray format in a Christian retail exclusive.

Six titles will go on sale from Feb. 18, 2012, as what Big Idea Entertainment said will be the first children’s direct-to-DVD Blu-ray discs in the Christian market.

Packaged with a standard definition DVD and including some new bonus features, the programs will retail for $16.99 each, just $2 more than a standard DVD. In-store floor displays encouraging shoppers to “Get the Blu's!” will be available.

“One of our strategies in launching the Blu-ray series is providing high value for a low cost,” said Greg Fritz, Big Idea's senior vice president of sales and marketing. “Big Idea launched VeggieTales in the CBA market, and it's fitting to introduce this new format exclusively in the channel as well. CBA retailers have a unique ability to promote multiple title releases and are experts at promoting the VeggieTales brand.

“Veggie fans know CBA stores carry a wide selection of their favorite animated vegetables. Given this, we feel there's no better way to launch this new category.”

Six more Blu-ray titles will follow in September, from when some past releases will also be made available in Blu-ray in the general market and all new ones will release in both formats. Lions Gate released Jonah: A VeggieTales Movie, Big Idea's 2002 feature-length production, on Blu-ray in the general market earlier this year.

Fritz said that the Blu-ray titles will include some bonus features previously included on the DVD release, as well as new bonus features created specifically for the Blu-ray editions. “There are some extras pulled from the Big Idea vault and can only be found in Easter eggs,” he said.

“Big Idea is committed to providing our programming in all formats desired by consumers,” Fritz said of the Blu-ray move. “What launched as a VHS property nearly 20 years ago, transitioned to DVD, TV, digital and now to the emerging Blu-ray format.”

The first Blu-ray releases are Pistachio—The Little Boy That Woodn’t, Minnesota Cuke and the Search for Noah's Umbrella, The Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s, Tomato Sawyer & Huckleberry Larry’s Big River Rescue, LarryBoy & the Bad Apple and Moe and the Big Exit. Each title will contain a $3 consumer mail-in rebate.

Sandi Patty will be delivering her rendition of “The Star Spangled Banner”—for which she became nationally known during the 1986 re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty—on New Year’s Eve at the stroke of midnight. She will take the stage in New York City’s Times Square for FOX News Channel’s All American New Year’s Eve Special, which will also feature Big and Rich, Trace Adkins, the Broadway cast of Rock of Ages, Justin Bieber and Lady Gaga.

“To welcome the new beginning of a New Year while celebrating the past year is quite a poignant moment to sing ‘The Star Spangled Banner,’ " said Patty. “It’s an unbelievable honor to be a part of this celebration with FOX News Channel.”

HarperCollins Publishers is making Ingram Publisher Services/Spring Arbor its exclusive distributor to the Christian market in order to expand its reach.

“We are honored to represent the impressive list of titles that HarperCollins has published,” said Mark Ouimet, vice president and general manager, Ingram Publisher Services, noting Spring Arbor’s “long-standing relationships” in the Christian market as well as Ingram’s “extensive distribution network.”