Aiming to capitalize on a known, strong name in the gift market, Thomas Nelson is bringing back its J. Countryman brand.

Having scrapped its 21 imprints, including J. Countryman, in the 2007 One Company Initiative, Nelson officials said it was time to bring back its "high-end gift product line."

The company also started using the Tommy Nelson name again last year for its children's products, which it had also eliminated due to the initiative. Lindsey Nobles, director of corporate communications, said that the return of the children's brand was due to feedback from retailers and children's product consumers.

Jennifer Deshler, vice president of marketing and publishing process for children's and gift books at Thomas Nelson, said that neither J. Countryman or Tommy Nelson "function as independent imprints."

Bringing back the J. Countryman name "reminds consumers that gift books are a meaningful way to express the sentiments of the heart as well as to deepen one's faith," she said. "The motto Jack Countryman created more than 20 years ago still holds true today: ‘Touching Lives ... Changing Hearts.' "

New titles under Countryman will include "a prestige product line of devotionals, devotional journals and promise books," Deshler added.

Read the full report in the November issue of Christian Retailing magazine.

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