The International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) closed with attendance up on last year, positive reviews from retailers and suppliers and a sense of optimism for the coming year buoyed by the prospect of two big project releases.

Professional attendance in Atlanta was 1,748, almost 10% over last year, while total attendance numbered 4,918, a near-6% rise over 2010. International attendance was up by 16% to 431 from 61 countries. The number of exhibitors and the booth spaces they took were the same as last year, at 230 and 593, respectively.

Given the economy and other factors affecting retailing in general, "I'm very encouraged that so many retailers found this show to be beneficial because this is a time when you need to go to this type of event to challenge yourself," said CBA Executive Director Curtis Riskey.

Workshop sessions ranging from sales floor evangelism to customer loyalty were well-attended, while previews of the forthcoming September movie release Courageous, from the makers of hit Fireproof, and Zondervan's The Story Bible campaign attracted the largest turnouts of the show. With strong consumer interest and multiple related products, both projects are being seen as key for many stores' fourth-quarter revenues.

Those attending the July 10-13 event, themed "Celebrate the Word, Impact the Culture," were given the chance to see a print-on-demand machine available for in-store use to produce a title in a few minutes, as part of an emphasis on how technology is changing publishing and retailing. Elsewhere, they were recruited to help assemble 100 bicycles to be given to local charities, as part of a focus on stores' ministry orientation.

"There's so much change taking place so rapidly that I need to be on the cutting edge," said Joey Mello-Gruber, who traveled to Atlanta from Hawaii, where she manages Hidden Treasures bookstore at North Shore Christian Fellowship in Haleiwa, Oahu. "It's been great. I have got a lot of insights."

For Jonathan Merkh, vice president and publisher of Howard Books, "this has been one of the best shows I have experienced in almost 10 years as far as being busy and the response." With what he believed was Howard's strongest fall list in its history, "the response we have got from retailers has been very positive. I'm walking away very pleased," he said.

Among companies celebrating anniversaries at ICRS was gift supplier Carpentree, which marked 35 years of its wall art by honoring four longtime retail accounts in a reception at its booth and handing out bags of gourmet candy.

Marketing Manager Sherry Morris said that the company had seen strong interest in its new series of Jesus portraits from child artist Akiane Kramarik, debuted in Atlanta. The picture—in a range of sizes and frames that retail from $20 to $150—is referenced in the runaway best-seller Heaven is for Real (Thomas Nelson), in which Todd Burpo tells of his young son's account of heaven.

Moody Publishers introduced its new fiction imprint, River North Fiction, which launches with the September release of A Marriage Carol by Gary Chapman and Chris Fabry. The renewed focus on fiction is part of a reorganizing of the company's publishing teams, said Sales Administrative Coordinator Michele Forrider. "We had pulled back for about a year or so and re-evaluated where we wanted to go," she said.

• Prev
• Next