Penguin Group has signed a four-year, multimillion-dollar deal with Strang Communications to distribute Penguin books to CBA member stores. "There's an attitude on the side of Christian bookstores—not necessarily wanting to do business with a secular company," said Bill Conine, v-p of sales and marketing for Charisma House, the book trade sales division of Strang Communications. Some booksellers feel that a general trade publisher "would not necessarily be sympathetic to the mindset or lifestyle of a Christian," he said.
"The CBA is an industry unto itself," said Joel Fotinos, director of religious publishing for Penguin. "To sell effectively into that market, you need people with expertise in that market." The deal also makes sense logistically for Penguin, Conine noted. "Penguin is set up to do business with large chains and distribution centers. A lot of the Christian market is mom-and-pop stores. We're geared to do that."
Charisma House will begin distributing titles from Penguin Group's various imprints to Christian retail outlets on May 1. JMS Marketing had been Penguin Group's distributor to the CBA market, but Charisma/ Strang have worked with Penguin in the past. The two companies signed the distribution deal after a number of successful copublishing collaborations, including one for The Faith of George W. Bush. Fotinos praised JMS, but said Penguin had outgrown its capabilities. "Strang was the next logical step."
As part of the arrangement, Noble Marketing will use its 12 field reps to sell Penguin and Charisma House books in the CBA market, which delighted at least one independent CBA store owner. "In the past, I've ordered direct from Penguin because they haven't had enough sales reps. I've never had a Charisma House rep come into my store. They always tried to pitch me on the phone or at conventions," said Jacob Stanton, owner of Jesus Chapel in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Under the agreement, Strang has access to Penguin's entire list, and has final say on whether a title will be sent to CBA stores. "Penguin is trusting that we know our market," said president Stephen Strang. "From our point of view, if there's a market demand for White Fang or a dictionary, there's no reason we wouldn't distribute it."
George Thomsen, who manages the Harvest Bookstore in Riverside, Calif., thinks CBA retailers are losing revenue by not selling such titles as Penguin Classics. "We have so many Christian retailers who complain about losing market share to category killers. My view is, I have customers who want to read the classic literature. Why shouldn't they buy them here? Am I going to put Barnes & Noble out of business? No, but I may take away a few of their sales."
