More than 500 people came to the Grand Opening of Blessings new store in Chilliwack, British Columbia, on Saturday, Sept. 28. The event also drew Canadian dignitaries: Sharon Gaetz, mayor of the city of Chilliwack, and Laurie Throness and John Martin, members of the Legislative Assembly in British Columbia.

Blessings President Mark Hutchinson came up with a strategy to establish the new location, starting with a soft opening Aug 1.

“We used August and early September to be fully prepped,” Hutchinson said. “The new store team trained well to be able to provide ‘wow’ service to our customer base.”

The strategy paid off, if the success of the Grand Opening is any indication.

“Sales were steady in August, and since the Grand Opening, we have seen a real step up,” he said. “We have good levels of product, and the community is responding well. I am pleased we took our time to execute well.”

The Canadian chain now has four brick-and-mortar locations and an online store. The new location is on the ground floor of the Blessings headquarters building with corporate offices on the upper floor along with the online operation.

The Chilliwack store offers books, Bibles, music, DVDs and “a vast range of gifts, which will include personalized gifts and fairly traded product from around the globe,” Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson also operates CBA Thrive (www.cbathrive.com), a program that aims to help other Christian retailers build their business.

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