A campaign to promote “thoughtful books” that could help set Christian stores apart from other retailers is being considered by several publishers.

The project is under review following a trial display at the International Christian Retail Show in July, organized by InterVarsity Press (IVP) and Kregel Publications. A 60-foot linear section in the CBA Town Center of the event featured 120 titles covering Bible reference, theology, cultural issues and Bible study.

Among the books spotlighted in the section—which also included titles from Baker Publishing Group and Crossway—were longtime backlist favorites such as John Stott's Basic Christianity and J.I. Packer's Knowing God.

“A number of retailers told us that if we had the type of merchandising they saw in the display, they would create a like-minded section in their stores,” said Dave Hill, executive director of sales and marketing at Kregel. With a follow-up survey under way, IVP and Kregel are looking into the possibility of producing display materials.

Christian stores “continue to face growing challenges when it comes to differentiating themselves from other retailers who carry some of the same Christian titles that the CBA stores depend on for their core business,” said Hill.

But they could make more of books from publishers like Kregel and others that “perfectly into the scope of the CBA retailers’ expertise and are not as likely to fit some of the more general outlets that may tend to 'cherry-pick' the Christian titles they sell.”

Read the full report in the October issue of Christian Retailing.

• Prev
• Next