CHAR ISMA DIA i a yo i i a w. i i a re a i i CHRISTIAN RETAILING Inspirational Gift Mart Retailers Choice Awards 2011 Personalization opportunities, product trends, personal insights, best-sellers and more in our latest supplement, free with this issue READ BY THE SUPPLIERS AND RETAILERS OF THE $4.6 BILLION CHRISTIAN PRODUCTS INDUSTRY to celebrate Tapping into global interest in a major Bible milestone, page 40 Named, the best new products of the year, in our center-pages pullout that helps you promote the winners in-store, page 28 INDUSTRY NEWS 14 VITAL SIGNS 30 TOP SELLERS 32 PRODUCT BRIEFINGS 17 BOOK NEWS 36 ICRS LISTING 46 ROUNDTABLE 48 BIBLE FOCUS 50 COMPETUITION 24 BOOK REVIEWS 28 RCA WINNERS 40 ICRS WORKSHOPS 44 STAFF TRAINING 52 INDUSTRY FORUM 54 VIEWPOINT Bible giveaways Retailer and publisher campaigns focus on ministry, outreach opportunities RIC IANSAY Scott Reed, manager of the LifeWay Christian Store in Conyers, Ga., packs boxes of Bibles for an American military hospital outside of Landstuhl, Germany. ith heightened general public attention on Word this year due to the King James 400th anniversary, retailers and publishers are seeing a good response to initiatives to help get the Bible in as many hands as possible with giveaways and promotions. Among the efforts is one led by a bookstore manager for the second-largest Christian chain in the country, which has donated thousands of Bibles to military personnel overseas. Scott Reed, manager of the LifeWay Christian Store in Conyers, Ga., who served in the U.S. Air Force as a staff sergeant in a security team detail 20 years ago, began asking customers in October 2010 if they would like to donate a I a 13 Top Schoenwald named CEO as Michael Hyatt stepsNelson leadership change for Thomas aside Mark Retailers undecided on social media Personal Facebook pages popular, value for stores less clear Send Twitter promos 33% Send email promos Store Facebook page TA I AT I Store Web site The jury is still out on the value of social media for Christian retail stores. While Christian latest Vital Signs industry survey found most retailers had their own personal Facebook page, they were largely neutral when it came to rating social networking value to their business. Two-thirds of stores told us they had a Facebook page for their store, but a third admitted posting updates or One in five retailers reported selling e-books, with the same number looking at options to do so. chief operating officer. are really a content provider and want to deliver it in any A leadership change at Thomas Nelson format our consumers Schoenwald, who retains the presiis set to take the largest Christian title he previously held, publisher further beyond the cited live events and printed page. its digital publishing initiatives New CEO Mark Schoenas ways in which the company wald intends to broaden the was moving beyond traditiondiversification begun under his al publishing, but said that it predecessor, Michael Hyatt, remained committed to the who remains chairman of the Christian retail channel. board and will continue to have deployed by far the resent the company in an ammost resources in that area and bassadorial role. will continue to do he said. really no longer see have learned over time ourselves as a book Mark Schoenwald that our strength is the core Schoenwald, 49, said after the announcement of his April promotion from NELSON, page 50 Personal Facebook page A NDY UTCHER T, a 14 PE PECTIVE Relevance and reliability A NDY UTCHER Christian Retailing DITOR For those who suggest that Christians are slow to embrace technology such as the iPad, like to IN-CompeTuition-View CR 06-11.indd point out that Moses recorded his mountaintop encounter with God on a couple of tablets. ... Weak joking aside, interesting to me how two of the best-known names in the new world of communication conjure up biblical imagery. Word, with echoes of unchanging truth, PERSPECTIVE, page 54 5/27/11 3:22 PM