Christian Trade Association International (CTAI) is likely to retool its Marketsquare International winter buying event for overseas accounts following a disappointing turnout in Atlanta, Jan. 18-20, for the show's fifth year.

A competing event and travel difficulties were among the factors contributing to the low attendance, with around 50 of the 74 who had registered arriving for the Sheraton Gateway Hotel program, which also saw fewer exhibitors than last year. The number of visitors was also down for the Inspirational Value Book Show (IVBS), being held in conjunction with Marketsquare for the second time.

A “disappointed” Jean-Luc Cosnard, president of French publisher Vida and chairman of CTAI, said: “I would have loved to see more people this year. We still need this show, people ask for it, but we will have to look at what we might need to do differently. The situation has changed, the world is changing, and we need to adapt.”

Several no-shows were Nigerian representatives—usually a strong presence at the event—who canceled their trips because of travel problems and religious violence in their homeland. Some U.S. retailers—also welcomed at the event—are thought to have chosen instead to attend CBA's new Next 2012 conference, held in Atlanta the previous week.

Despite the downturn in numbers, most who were there were positive. “It was a slow show for us; a lot of our customers didn't make it,” said Lloyd Hildebrand, CEO and Publisher at Bridge-Logos. International accounts remained “a significant part of our business,” he added, and “it is good to meet them here.”

Remi Morgan, CEO of Laterna Ventures, a Nigerian distributor with two stores in the capital, Lagos, said: “It's always a good time to catch up with suppliers and others within the industry. I don't think one meeting a year, the International Christian Retail Show, is adequate. It is good to feel the pulse of what is going on.”

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