Celebrating 40 years, Bob Siemon Designs (BSD) is holding its first warehouse sale at the Santa Ana, Calif.-based gift company's headquarters, Nov. 19-20, with discounts of up to 97% off the original price.

The sale illustrates the ripple effect the recession and growth of e-commerce have had on the nation's retailers, The Orange County Register reported. In 2009, Christian stores reported a 3% decline in sales, according to CBA.

"We'll have a million dollars worth of merchandise, everything from silver rings to Bible covers, all for pennies on the dollar," Bob Siemon told the newspaper. "I want to move inventory. So many stores we used to sell to have closed. We've had at least half of our industry go out of business. We have stockpiles of merchandise."

The minimum discount is 60% on merchandise that will be available, Siemon said. Coffee mugs, typically $10 each, will sell for $1.50. The company is marketing the event through Southern California churches and Christian radio, the Register reported. "We're expecting thousands of people," Siemon said of the event.

The company, which employed 400 people during the peak of the WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) jewelry and book craze in the 1990s, now has 70 employees. Siemon told the newspaper that his manufacturing business is financially sound because of the downsizing and a change in marketing strategy.

"Five years ago, we didn't sell much on the Internet; now we're doing a lot more business with Internet stores," he said. "Our jewelry is sold on hundreds of Web sites. We sell directly on Amazon. It's just a different business model."

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