While most publishers are scaling back their presence at next month's International Christian Retail Show, two companies are using the event to launch major initiatives.

Standard Publishing will announce a return to children's books, while Crossway Books & Bibles will unveil a new name and image at the July 12-15 show in Denver.

"For many years, Standard was well-known for their children's books," Bob Wallace, marketing director, told Christian Retailing. "The past couple of years, we took a break. Now we're back in."

Standard will begin its new push with the revised "Baby Blessings" line, releasing seven newly revised and updated titles in September-followed by more new titles in the future.

Meanwhile, Crossway Books & Bibles' new corporate identity will include a new logo, advertising brand and Web site. Doing business to date as Crossway Books & Bibles and Good News for its evangelistic tracts, the Illinois-based company will change its name to Crossway.

The move is to avoid confusion and capitalize on a really good year for the company, said Geoff Dennis, executive vice president, sales and marketing.

"This last year across the industry, most publishers were down about 20%, (but) Crossway has seen about a 35% increase," he told Christian Retailing. "We feel like we're positioned in the right way at the right time to strengthen our outreach."

Read the full report in the July 6 issue of Christian Retailing.

• Prev
• Next