The Religious Booksellers Trade Exhibit held in St. Charles, Ill June 1-4 is an old-fashioned booksellers show, where plenty of orders are taken, and in addition to the exhibit floor and author events, Episcopal and Catholic booksellers hold their annual meetings. This year, retailers in attendance were enthusiastic about the show and upbeat about business.
Sue Tierney, manager of Cathedral Bookstore in Atlanta and newly elected president of the Episcopal Booksellers Association, said their membership was stable at 79 stores. “We are only down three stores from our highest, and those closings aren’t necessarily business-related.” Asked about sales trends, she said it varies store to store. “[Cathedral is] very strong on sales at special events, but down a bit in walk-in traffic.” Chris Weichert, president of the Catholic Retailers Association and owner of Vineyard Books, Gifts & Church Supplies in Rockford, Ill., said there were now 48-50 member stores, up 8%-10% over last year (final counts were not available at press time). He estimated that 60%-70% of member stores were represented at the show. “Sales have begun to improve. We’re just coming off Communion season, and people are encouraged by the growth over the previous year.” (Member numbers for each association do not reflect the actual number of stores, since many stores are not members.)
Diane Kincel, manager of the nonprofit Crossroads Catholic Bookstore in Lafayette, La., said that business was “great. We do better in crisis years.” Lafayette is 80% Catholic, so her customer base is healthy. The 4,000 sq. ft. store carries about 4,000 titles, with 60% books and 40% gifts. “This show is wonderful,” said Kincel. “We get to see the books, and we place plenty of orders.”
Tierney cited a list of reasons way she was attending RBTE: “It’s important to have the face-to-face with publishers because the reps are gone. We get to find the right contacts at publishers and give them feedback about where the holes are, as well as resolving any problems we might be having. We hear other bookstores’ concerns, and then of course there is the camaraderie.” She said she enjoyed the opportunity to hear popular authors like Sr. Joan Chittister speak. Chittister, who has books out from Jossey-Bass, Bluebridge, Thomas Nelson, and, most recently, Liturgical, got a standing ovation at the Wednesday luncheon, with both booksellers and publishers noting that she had spoken specifically to their work and needs.
