The company that publishes Christian Retailing, Strang Communications, is rebranding itself and downsizing to cope with a changing market and improve profitability, said Stephen Strang, founder and CEO.

Beginning this month, the company which is located in Lake Mary, Fla., will do business under three names: Strang Book Group, which includes seven imprints, headed by Executive Vice President Tessie Devore; Strang Grupo Hispano, headed by Director Lydia Morales; and Strang Media Group, which includes the company's magazine and Internet properties. Strang himself will head up the Media Group, which includes its flagship Charisma magazine as well as Christian Retailing and several other publications.

"We will continue to do business under the names of our many imprints and brands," Strang said. "But this more clearly identifies the three distinct groups under which we now do business." Strang Communications Company will continue to be the name used for the entire corporation.

The company laid off 11 people Feb. 27. Previously seven full-time equivalents were laid off in January. That totaled just less than 12% of the staff. Most departments laid off one person, usually the most recently hired.

None of the nine "full-time equivalents" who work on Christian Retailing, The Church Bookstore or Inspirational Gift Trends were laid off.

"We've been coping with the same market changes everyone else is facing, plus the technology changes as the Internet becomes a more important part of what we do," Strang said. "But the layoffs were a response to the current economic slowdown to improve profitability to fund future growth."

He added that Internet advertising grew more than 700% last year and there are many positive things happening in the company, including the release of some books with big potential such as Brian Zahnd's What To Do On The Worst Day Of Your Life and Eat This And Live by Dr. Don Colbert.

"We're confident we serve a strong market and that the economy will bounce back," Strang said. "I'm positive about the future and pursuing the call of God we've pursued for the past three decades."

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