Kregel Publications has announced the winner of its customer appreciation contest held at June's International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in St. Louis.

The publisher awarded the Laurens, S.C.-based Ministry Helps store $1,500 in free product July 12. Sheila Bible, buyer for the South Carolina Christian retailer, will be able to choose any product from Kregel's complete online catalog.

"ICRS is the ideal place to connect with Christian bookstores and show our appreciation for what they do every day," said Dave Hill, executive director of sales and marketing for Kregel Publications. "We value each store's work in Christian retail and consider it an honor to award this prize to Ministry Helps."

Zondervan is putting off publication of its biography for young adult readers of former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

Speaking Up: The Sarah Palin Story by Kim Washburn, described as a story that "inspires each of us to follow our dreams without compromising our beliefs," was to have been released in October by Zonderkidz, the children's division of Zondervan.

Tara Powers, spokesperson for Zondervan, said today that publication would be delayed. The company had "determined that October 2010 is not the optimal time for publishing this book. We do not yet have word on when the book will be printed."

Written for children aged 9 through 12, Speaking Up was to tell how Palin's faith in God and family support helped her run for vice president and follow her dreams.

Flywheel (Provident Films/Provident-Integrity Distribution) was still atop the SoundScan's Christian Videos list for sales the week ending July 14, while Hello Love by Chris Tomlin (sixstepsrecords/EMI CMG Distribution) continued to hold the top spot of the Christian/gospel music Christian retail chart.

After Flywheel, the best-selling DVDs were: 2. Black Beauty (Warner Home Video/Word Distribution); 3. The Wager (Pure Flix Entertainment/Genius Products/EMI CMG); 4. Mandie and the Secret Tunnel (Bridgestone Multimedia Group); 5. The Ultimate Gift (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment/Word Distribution); 6. Home Beyond the Sun (Pure Flix Entertainment/EMI CMG); 7. The Flo Show Creates a Buzz, Max Lucado's Hermie & Friends (Tommy Nelson/Thomas Nelson); 8. Abe and the Amazing Promise, VeggieTales (Big Idea/Word Distribution); 9. Clancy (Kelly's Filmworks/EMI CMG); and 10. The Secrets of Jonathan Sperry (Five & Two Pictures/Christiano Film Group/Bridgestone Multimedia Group).

A new nonprofit company has been founded to distribute conservative titles-including an evangelistic best-seller-to the U.S. and Canada.

Grace Distribution has been founded by the merger of Cumberland Valley Bible Book Service (CVBBS) and EP Books, the U.S. distributor for U.K.-based publishers, including Evangelical Press, Carey Publications and Bryntyrion Press.

The new operation is based at CVBBS's bookstore and warehouse facility in Carlisle, Pa. Under the new name, CVBBS will manage retail activities, while EP Books will handle trade and distribution sales.

Graham Hilton, CEO of EP Books, said that the merger had been in development for two years and would help expand the sales and distribution of "quality" Christian books. "It is a delight to join forces in this work with CVBBS, who already have shown unprecedented skills in improving our customer service," Hilton said.

The CEO of Grace Distribution is Todd Jennings, owner of CVBBS, who said: "Having a publisher, distributor and retailer under the same roof is very positive and gives the new organization strength in depth as we look to developing in the future."

EP Books' Ultimate Questions by John Blanchard has sold more than 16 million copies and is available in 59 languages. Earlier this year, Blanchard and EP Books won the 2010 Resource of the Year Award in the U.K. for Why On Earth Did Jesus Come?

Back-to-school spending is expected to offer a retail boost this year, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF).

The group's 2010 Consumer Intentions and Actions Back to School Survey predicts that the average American family will spend just over $606 on clothes, shoes, supplies and electronics, compared to just under $549 last year, with total spending on children aged K-12 reaching $21 billion.

Together with college-age spending, the back-to-school market is the second-biggest consumer-spending event of the year, behind the winter holidays.

However, the NRF study found that the economy still is making an impact, with more families planning to buy store brand or generic products (44.3% compared to 41.7% last year). Seven out of 10 survey respondents said that they intend to shop at a discount store and more will be shopping online (30.8% compared to 22.2%).

"We are encouraged by the fact that parents are eager to start their back-to-school shopping this year, but the industry still remains cautiously optimistic about recovery," said NRF President and CEO Matt Shay. "As the second half of the year gets under way, retailers will gauge their customers' spending appetites, which often serve as a bellwether for the all-important holiday season."

June retail sales, excluding auto sales, were down compared to sales from the previous month, although monthly retail sales figures for June from the Department of Commerce reported modest growth over June 2009, the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) reported.

Overall retail sales declined 0.6% in June, but rose 5% over sales in June 2009. Retail sales excluding auto and auto part sales slipped 0.1% in June, but showed gains of 4.4% over the previous year.

"Although there is no question that the economy and the retail industry are in a considerably better place today than a year ago, retailers continue to face strong economic headwinds, limiting the industry's short-term growth," said RILA President Sandy Kennedy. "Persistent high unemployment continues to drag down retail sales further dampening hopes of meaningful near-term growth.

Department store sales grew by 1.1%, while home improvement, home furnishing and sporting goods retailers all saw declines of 1% or more. Electronics and appliance stores lead all other retail segments in June with a 1.3% increase in sales. The same segment realized a growth of 7.3% over June of 2009.

Today's retail sales follow the recent U.S. Department of Labor report that despite adding 83,000 private-sector jobs in June, the economy shed 125,000 jobs as 225,000 temporary census jobs were eliminated.

A leading regional Christian retailer has told how looking out for others and involving customers in ministry outreaches has helped his business thrive despite the recent challenges in the industry.

Mark Schoepke, owner/general manager of the Tree of Life Christian Outlets chain and two Parable Christian Store franchises in Oregon, instituted changes after recognizing that "the trends in our industry were not looking good" and working with staff to identify what set their stores apart from others.

That has included giving away more products to customers-such as presenting moms with a long-stemmed rose around Mother's Day-and inviting shoppers to support the stores' sending soccer balls for use in evangelistic outreaches and Bibles to Africa.