After 23 years with Charisma House, Tessie DeVore has resigned from her role as executive vice president and publisher to serve as president of a new nonprofit, the Lumo Project, a ministry dedicated to Bible engagement.

Marcos Perez, vice president of sales and marketing for Charisma House, has been promoted to executive vice president and publisher by Steve Strang, CEO and founder of Charisma Media.

From content creators to church bookstore managers, the Christian products industry met in Cincinnati this week for CBA’s UNITE 2016. Otherwise known as the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS), the recast convention drew a total of 2,114 professionals June 26-29 at the Duke Energy Convention Center. Last year’s attendance for the Orlando, Florida, show was much higher at over 3,000 total.

CBA President Curtis Riskey welcomed how attendees responded enthusiastically to the theme of UNITE 2016.

Gift vendors report mostly positive experience at Unite 2016, although some didn’t like the reduced time on the floor because of the lunchtime General Sessions.

John McKinney, president of Swanson Christian Products, said the show had been “busy.”

“We’ve had a lot of customers and we’re hoping that we wrote a lot of orders, so we’ll find that out when we get back home,” said McKinney, who also pointed out that “setup was a piece of cake.”

One of Swanson’s most popular products at the show was a line of fashion purses suitable for carry computer tablets but mainly designed for women who have conceal carry permits.

“In today’s environment of concealed carry usage among the general public, the addition of a significant selection of Christian themed concealed carry purses is intriguing to us as distributors,” McKinney said in an earlier press release. “Is this a product that our retailers, and more importantly their customers will embrace?  We believe it is.”

Carpentree was pleased with the interest buyers showed toward its new line.

“We’ve had a lot of new excitement over the Faith Collection line,” said Jordan Hobson, vice president of sales and marketing. “We just acquired that company at the end of September last year. We’ve got both Faith Collection and Carpentree under one roof in Tulsa, Oklahoma. We’ve purchased a new, 50,000-square-foot facility. We’ve got both companies shipping under one roof. We’ve had a lot of customers to our resin crosses and our new embellished canvases that Carpentree has released, so we’re looking forward to continuing that exposure and furthering the work that we’re doing in bringing people to Christ. It’s been a great show, and we’re looking forward to next year.”

Exhibitors at Unite 2016 promoted key upcoming book and Bible titles, from Sarah Young's Jesus Always devotional (Thomas Nelson, October) to Joni Eareckson Tada's Beyond Suffering Bible (Tyndale House Publishers, October) . 

Other soon-to-come titles include Ann Voskamp's highly anticipated new book, The Broken Way (Zondervan, Oct. 25), and Jonathan Cahn's The Book of Mysteries (Charisma House, Sept. 6). The holiday season will feature many high-profile authors, including Max Lucado (Because of Bethlehem, Thomas Nelson) and Beth Moore (first novel The Undoing of Saint Silvanus, Tyndale), both of which release in September.

CBA and Content Road Media have joined in a strategic partnership to provide exclusive protects and maximum market for CBA member retailers. This new initiative was rolled out at Unite 2016 during three showings of the pilot product, The Samaritan, a feature documentary with Col. Oliver North and Eddie Roush.

Content Road Media will select the products and manage the overall process, and CBA expects retailers to benefit from increased traffic and sales across multiple product categories.

Christian retail customers long for community, says DaySpring Brand Director Kim Marquette. During one of Tuesday's breakout sessions at CBA's Unite 2016, Marquette instructed retailers on "In-Store Event Planning."

Hosted by Illustrated Faith by DaySpring, the session offered insider tips on planning and executing an in-store event that builds faith, fosters community and creates an unforgettable experience.

CBA’s Christian Product Trends workshop gave retailers attending Unite 2016 a hint at the future of Christian retailing.

The event hosted key industry figures, including Ed Leonard (New Day Christian Distributors), Cynthia Ruchti (American Christian Fiction Writers), Dan Lynch (B&H Kids) and Kevin Traub (Zonderkidz), who highlighted product trends in retail.