CBA Chairman Jim Whitaker—co-owner of New Life Christian Store in Lynchburg, Va.—plans to close his brick-and-mortar shop, but he will stay in business.

“We are not shutting down; what we are doing is closing our present location and transitioning to a new business model,” he told Christian Retailing. “We will continue to serve our church/institutional accounts and others by face-to-face direct sales, Web site, e-mail and phone orders. We are also investigating other innovative avenues of marketing Christian retail product.”

Puerto Rican distributor sees growth as others note slowdown 

As Christian publishers continue to feel the pinch of consumers reeling in spending due to the global economic crunch, the Latin evangelical market is experiencing growth in some areas.

One leading distributor of Spanish Christian books in Puerto Rico is reporting booming business—despite a recession in the last four years in the U.S. territory located in the northeastern Caribbean.

Ricky Feliciano told of his success with Pura Vida Books—offering encouragement to the U.S. Christian products industry as it faces its own economic challenges—during a buying trip to see American accounts in March.

Meanwhile, with the Spanish publishing industry gathering later this month for Expolit—the largest trade fair in the U.S. for the Spanish-language Christian literature and music world—publishers are also reporting some bright spots in a year of economic uncertainty, while music sales have struggled.

Pura Vida Books—which distributes titles for Grupo Nelson (Thomas Nelson), Editorial Vida (Zondervan), Editorial Unilit, B&H Español (B&H Publishing Group), Tyndale Español (Tyndale House Publishers) and Casa Creación (Strang Grupo Hispano)—the Spanish imprint of Christian Retailing’s parent company, Strang Communications—“has been growing constantly during those four years of a recession—30% growth annually,” he told Christian Retailing.

“This year, we’ve hit it out of the ballpark. We have grown 140% in the first three months because of new open markets,” Feliciano said.

Pura Vida started distributing books to 16 Wal-Mart stores and four Costco locations in January. Pura Vida also distributes to nine Sam’s Club locations, three Borders and 120 pharmacies and hospitals.

“We are the biggest Christian distributor in Puerto Rico,” said Feliciano, who started Pura Vida in 2002, although the company nearly went bankrupt in 2004. Though there are two other Christian distributors in Puerto Rico, “I don’t consider them as my competition. I consider the secular distributors as my competition,” he said. “We found out that non-Christians buy Christian books. The secular market is hungry for Christian books.”

Strang Grupo Hispano Director Lydia Morales said Casa Creación’s sales in Puerto Rico have grown 364% since 2005, including 47% during 2007-2008. Casa Creación’s top sellers through Pura Vida include ,i>¡Cielo es tan real! (Heaven Is So Real!, Charisma House) by Choo Thomas and 23 minutos en el infierno (23 Minutes in Hell, Charisma House) by Bill Wiese.

“We are amazed of the growth that Pura Vida has shown in the last four years with our products,” she said. “Ricky has been able to penetrate the secular market in Puerto Rico and almost quadruple our sales.”

Feliciano noted that Christian books appeal to the mass market in Puerto Rico because of three reasons: their message touches the heart and mind, the good quality of book covers and good price point. “This is how we have competed against secular books,” he said. “We have taken the shelf spaces of secular books in secular stores and filled them with Christian books.”

Feliciano, who has 15 employees—up from a staff of 12 in 2008—expects Pura Vida’s growth to continue. “The reason is there is a hunger in Puerto Rico for spirituality,” said Feliciano, who also owns a Christian bookstore in Mayuaex, Puerto Rico. “A buyer from Sam’s Club asked me, ‘I don’t understand how your Christian books sell.’ I tell him that people are in need. They are looking for comfort and encouragement.”

Larry Downs, executive vice president and publisher for Grupo Nelson, said even in what has been “a difficult year for all involved,” the Thomas Nelson division had seen increases in three areas—business, electronic and fiction titles.

“Fiction is the largest growth area for us,” said Downs, adding that the company is invested in it “heavily” by launching a search for new original Spanish fiction writers. New titles include Donají by Keila Ochoa Harris, Loruhama by César Vidal and olumnas de Humo by Álvaro Pandaiani.

Exchange rates, raising costs of exports to some areas by 50% and heavy returns in the U.S. were some of the challenges faced by the company during an already tumultuous economic year.

“I believe we will see this trend for at least another 12 to 18 months,” Downs said. “We still have six to nine tough months ahead before we see any breaks.”

David Ecklebarger, executive director of the Spanish Evangelical Products Association and president of Editorial Unilit, said the Spanish market outside of the U.S. had not seen a downturn to the extent experienced by the English market.

“The economy in Latin American countries has been up on an average of 5% in the past several years and it was projected to continue,” he said. “I think it’s a wait-and-see on how seriously the economic impact is going to impact Latin America. It could be that it’s minimal.”

One of the areas hit hardest by the downturn was Spanish music, Ecklebarger said, noting a number of companies had shut down or merged—resulting in a decline in registrations by independent artists attending Expolit, scheduled for May 14-19 in Miami. “Spanish music and the recording industry has really been hurt,” he said.

Integrity Music Latin’s Elias Yepez, director of sales/marketing and operations, acknowledged that music sales in general have struggled. But there was still room for growth, especially in the Spanish market.

“The music industry in whole has declined, but that doesn’t mean so have the opportunities,” Yepez said. “Innovation, new presentations, more features, added value and decreasing costs are other aspects to consider in order to avoid riding the wave of the plummeting music industry.”

He said stores could weather the storm by researching top music titles and managing inventory. Yepez was also optimistic that Hispanics were still loyal to physical products.

“A large percentage of the Hispanic market does not buy digital music yet, so retail outlet sales still have the potential compared to Anglo sales at least for the next two years,” he said.

The Spanish retail industry is not “frontlist-driven nearly as much,” Ecklebarger said. “We’ve seen most of our growth in the backlist sales rather than the front end,” he said. “In a lot of ways, that’s good. We’ve got a lot of good, steady books that have been there for years and continue to do very well. Our market is not driven by having one big winner.”

Downs agreed, suggesting bookstores stick to core inventory and introduce new releases “slowly” with good exposure, including endcap placement.

‘Fresh recruits’ give stores a new face and focus, defying economic downturn

Undaunted by the challenge of the economic downturn, a wave of newcomers to the industry is ringing the bell for Christian retailing.

Among those bringing a new face to the industry is a Canadian trio whose made-over Bell Tower Books is trying to reach beyond traditional evangelical circles by opening up a lounge to the local arts community and carrying some popular general market titles like those featured on Oprah Winfrey’s TV show.

“God is sending in fresh recruits, charging up the whole team like in a basketball game,” said CBA President Bill Anderson of the industry’s new arrivals, reporting an average of 15 new trade association members a month. “One of the main characteristics I observe is their conviction that God has called them. They have a realistic sense of optimism, and a sense of need for more Christian retail stores.”

Leading the way at Bell Tower Books is Dave Sohnchen, who was manager of the former Christian Publications outlet in Kelowna, British Columbia, that was bought out by Jim and June Brown last year.

The 4,000-square-foot store celebrated a grand re-opening in March, unveiling The Belfry—an informal upstairs meeting area where “bell ringers” who pay a $60 annual subscription can meet and borrow books and other resources supplied by the store’s management team, free of charge.

“I knew that things needed to change somewhat in terms of how we did business,” said Sohnchen, whose store’s new mission statement is summed up as CHIME—communal, holistic, integrated, missional, engaging. “We are trying to engage our culture,” he said.

Meanwhile, New York City’s famous Brooklyn Tabernacle has given new life to its bookstore operations, closing the two former Timeless Treasures locations and replacing them with Bell Tower Christian Gift & Bookstore.

The store is a member of the Munce Group, where sales and service coordinator Danielle Woods said though times were tough, “the rate of retailers looking for marketing help is relatively steady, if not growing.”

Newcomers were motivated by ministry, she told Christian Retailing. “Christian retailers want to keep their doors open so that the lost and hurting can walk through them. What characterizes the average new Christian retailers is an evangelistic heart.”

That is the case with Patricia Hill, whose Christian Books and Gifts ... And Then Some in Philadelphia, is due to open June 1 after two years of preparation. Leaving the corporate world after more than 30 years gave her the opportunity to fulfill the long-held dream—shared with her pastor husband—of opening a Christian store.

The new business would be able to put valuable resources in the hands of church members, she said, and reach out to “those who maybe grew up in church but are not there now, and maybe they will be led to go back to the house of God.

Hill said she was not discouraged by the financial crash that had occurred since she started planning the new store. “We are walking into this knowing where the economy is, so there’s no way to go but up. That’s the way I see it. I know that this is God’s will.”

Nor did last fall’s slump deter Dan and Dayna Panella, who were in negotiations to buy Vine & Branches Christian Bookstore in Lodi, Calif., from Phil Biddle. The pair decided “there would be no better time to buy the business,” said Dan Panella. “I felt that if there is any place people are going to be spending money it should be at a place like this, because hopefully they would be focusing on God instead of the latest video game or whatever.”

With a grand re-opening at the end of March, the 4,400-square-foot store has been given a fresh logo, reorganized with a more contemporary look and re-stocked to reach younger consumers. “We didn’t want people to think that all we sold was Bibles, especially if they had never been in the store before,” Panella said.

Opening Abundant Life Christian Store in Aiken, S.C., at the beginning of the year was a “leap of faith” for Kay Mortimer, an accountant who decided to venture into Christian retail after learning that Haven of Rest, a Christian store that had served the city for almost 20 years, was due to close with the owner’s retirement.

While some Christian products can be bought at places like Wal-Mart, Mortimer said she believed Aiken still needed “a place where the focus is the Word of God and His kingdom.” Customers of the former store a couple of blocks away have welcomed the new business, she said. “I believe the support is there. We are trusting that God is leading us, and He wouldn’t lead us down a path to failure.”

Although the new direction of stores like Bell Tower Books has been welcomed by many, with Sohnchen reporting a good number of first-time visitors, not everyone is impressed. Bell Tower’s new approach was criticized in an e-mail sent to churches in the area that warned the store’s Web site included Wiccan and gay and lesbian materials.

“Anybody who has come to us directly with criticism or concerns have had them quickly put to rest,” Sohnchen said. “We just open up our hearts and what we believe God’s vision is for this store. When they hear and see it, they immediately say, ‘Yes, I get it.’”

The pastor of Free Chapel church in Gainesville, Ga., is a featured performer on the new CD release, Power of the Cross (Integrity Music/Provident-Integrity Distribution), a live recording of the multicultural congregation.

The Shack by William P. Young (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group USA) returned to the top spot of the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction best-seller list for the week of April 3.

Young's debut novel--which spent several weeks in the No. 1 spot last year--has been on the list for 47 weeks in a row, Hachette officials said.

Following 10 were: 2. The Power of One; 3. My Paper Heart by Francesca Battistelli (Fervent Records/Word Distribution); 4. Hello Love by Chris Tomlin (sixstepsrecords/EMI CMG Distribution); 5. A New Hallelujah by Michael W. Smith (Reunion Records/Provident-Integrity); 6. Wow Hits 2009 by various artists (Wow Gospel/Provident-Integrity); 7. Over and Underneath by Tenth Avenue North (Reunion Records/Provident-Integrity); 8. Speaking Louder Than Before by Jeremy Camp (BEC Recordings/EMI CMG); 9. While I'm Waiting by John Waller (Reunion Records/Provident-Integrity); and 10. God of This City by Bluetree (Lucid Artist/Lucid Artist).