Approximately 1,000 people attended the Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit's (RBTE) 15th annual trade event for the Catholic/liturgical product industry, held May 30-June 2 in St. Charles, Ill.

Though fewer buyers attended this year-259, compared to last year's 312-show organizer Bob Byrnes said the four-day program would be “hard to duplicate,” and that RBTE would continue to carve out niches and attract more bookstores for next year's show.

Jeff Hamilton, director of sales for Church Publishing Inc., said regular attendees “are like one big family that looks forward to the camaraderie and fellowship associated with the RBTE.”

About 70 retailers took part in a special daylong training seminar conducted by bookstore-training group Paz & Associates the day prior to the show floor's opening.

In a session on “Leading With Vision: Developing a 'Thinking' Workplace With Self-Managed Teams,” co-presenter Donna Paz Kaufman encouraged retailers to “develop and communicate your store's mission-what are you in business to do, and for whom?”

Kaufman, who detailed how to properly interview, select and train staff, said she was approached by attendees wanting advice on how to go back to their stores and communicate the need for a more open culture with the owner or manager. “It appears to us that some old, top-down approaches to management still exist out there, even in RBTE stores.”

A session focusing on technology drew a smaller group of approximately 40 whose reported use of computer systems varied widely. Some were not using specialized retail systems but had adapted business software to try to organize their work, while others with programs admitted they did not know how to get the most out of the software. Kaufman outlined the most helpful features available to retailers, including electronic ordering, inventory-management, special-orders and customer databases.

“It's good to be a part of that whole learning process and to be made aware of what my system can and cannot do,” said Julie Cragon of St. Mary's Bookstore & Church Supply in Nashville, who attended the session.

New Orleans retailer Anne Komly's presence summed up the family spirit offered by the event for retailers, publishers and gift suppliers. “I wouldn't be here if it weren't for others,” said the owner of The Catholic Book Store in New Orleans, who lost all her inventory when Hurricane Katrina hit last year. Komly thought she would have to miss this year's event as she rebuilt her business, but she was able to attend through the sponsorship of the Association of Catholic Booksellers and shared her story, her photographs and her gratitude with fellow retailers.

“We always know we need people, but this gives it a whole new meaning,” she said.

• Prev
• Next