Family Christian Stores, a chain of 317 outlets in 37 states, announced plans for an Internet venture at the Christian Booksellers Association International Convention in Orlando.
The site, still unnamed, will be three-pronged, with sections for e-commerce, community exchange and content, all with a Christian orientation. It will differentiate itself from Family's existing Web site (www.familychristianstores.com) and from other Christian retail and information sites by being "a life destination site," explained Jef Fite, the newly appointed president of the venture. "Most other sites that are content-driven send you off-site for shopping or for further information," Fite said. "But this site will be integrated so the consumer can do everything from one place."
The site will offer only materials that meet Family's definition of Christian, said Jeff Lambert, a company spokesperson, and will include all items found in Family's physical stores: apparel, books, music, videos, jewelry and art. "Other sites exist, but none have a filter that say this book or this tape will follow your beliefs as a Christian," he said. "We want to be that filter."
The venture will be online "sometime in the fall," Lambert said. At a CBA press conference, Family president Les Dietzman said the company would invest $50 million in the site over the next three years, though in a later interview Family executives declined to specify the size of their investment. The site will be run from Grand Rapids, Mich., Family's corporate home. At CBA, Dietzman predicted, "The size of this venture should mirror our bricks-and-mortar stores within three to five years." Family had sales of $227 million in the fiscal year ended January 31.
