Faced with declining membership and a loss of business to mainstream retailers, CBA has instituted a number of changes designed to shift its attention and resources away from "services" and toward "solutions," said CBA president Bill Anderson. But even as the CBA, a trade group for evangelical Christian retailers, changes its focus, it still faces criticism that those changes aren't coming fast enough.
Late last month, CBA announced it is discontinuing CBA Marketplacemagazine and replacing it with Aspiring Retailer; previously, CBA had renamed its July convention from CBA International to the International Christian Retail Show. Both moves are designed to distance the CBA from the "bookseller" label, which has not accurately reflected the product mix in most Christian stores for some time (stores average only about 25% of their stock in books).
Responding to numerous complaints over the years about the length of the five-day show, CBA has cut the July conference by a day. The show will feature four Solution Centers focusing on important industry topics, e.g., "How to Reach the 20-Somethings." Said Anderson, "There will be methods and product demonstrations that will show real solutions for drawing in this important demographic."
Jerry Park, executive v-p and chief marketing officer for Thomas Nelson, was on the convention reinvention committee for its first year and praised the dedication of the committee members, but said, "I probably wasn't the most popular person on the committee. The independent retailers are in trouble. They are the backbone of the industry, and we needed to move more quickly, I felt." Still, Park said he was looking forward to the July show. "I'm eager to see how the retailers take to the changes."
But improved trade shows alone aren't going to help the struggling independents, Park added. "A lot of focus in the past from CBA has been on the conventions. I'd love to see more emphasis on individual training and empowerment of the brand-new retailer," he said. "Independents come from all walks of life. Many get into Christian retailing because of the ministry element, but they're not well versed on how to run a business."
George Thomsen of the Harvest Bookstore in Riverside, Calif., agreed, saying, "Education needs to be brought to the stores. The education is good at the convention, but not everyone can attend and of those that do, the best use of their time may not be sitting in a seminar. Additionally, the information conveyed in the seminars is not easily transferable to the individual employee at the store level."
Thomsen would like to see CBA develop online employee training modules on customer service, salesmanship, selling Bibles and reference materials, inventory control and other topics. "CBA has produced some videos on some of these topics in the past, but in this day and age, interactive online training is the way to go."
The association does have many members who fully support its direction. Stuart Cameron, director of marketing for Blessings Christian Marketplace, based in Windsor, Ontario, praised the CBA. "I think the CBA lives up to its ideals and does a great job of promoting Christian bookstores." Jay Weygandt, manager of the Logos store in Springfield, Ohio, also supported the group: "The educational workshops and featured speakers alone are worth many times the membership fee. Add to that efforts toward standardization in the industry and such things as core inventory lists. CBA creates national media attention, which increases sales for all of us."
Anderson and CBA face unique pressures. Some Christian retailers even seem to expect CBA to tell publishers what to publish. John Culley, owner of Evangelical Bookstore in San Diego, believes CBA's training for staff should extend to theology: "The CBA motto is, 'What goes into a mind comes out in a life.' But what are they doing to help the stores make sure they're not selling junk? I don't think the CBA is beholden to the publishers. I think it's afraid of them. They'll sell any books the publishers want to push at them, regardless of whether it lines up with the Bible."
Mark Swenson, owner of Sonshine Christian Store in Mission Viejo, Calif., suggested that if the CBA were to take some of its focus off its trade shows, it could do more to encourage churches to promote the Christian retail channel. "For us to do that as independent retailers comes across as self-serving. But the CBA could communicate to the corporate church that if they don't support us, we might just go away."
Thomsen charged that CBA focuses on its trade shows rather than on education because that's where it gets the lion's share of its revenue. Anderson responded, "Our primary revenue is from conventions and that includes booth space paid for by exhibitors as well as registrations from retailers. Only 10% of our income comes from membership dues. The CBA board is dominated by retail—with seven retailers and three suppliers. Our board sets policy and direction for CBA, and our benefits, services, and business solutions are all aimed at the retailer."
However, some retailers complain that CBA has let itself be swayed by these sources of income to lean toward favoring the publishers. Anderson rebuffed that charge, saying, "I meet with suppliers frequently on behalf of Christian retail. No one sitting in on one of these meetings and hearing me advocate the interests of Christian retailers would ever suggest that CBA is beholden to suppliers. To the credit of our suppliers, in my 27 years at CBA, I have never experienced a supplier throwing its weight or even suggesting that I make a decision contrary to the best interests of the Christian retailer."
Swenson, while critical of CBA's focus on trade shows, said he has "no doubt that CBA has the Christian retailer's best interests at heart. I do not believe for one minute that CBA is beholden to the publishers."
For their part, publishers are complaining about CBA's decision to keep its winter convention. The CBA added a January conference in 1994 (then called CBA Expo and recently renamed CBA Advance). A number of smaller publishers—among them Paraclete Press and Jossey-Bass—have dropped out of the show in the past few years, citing high costs for little or no return. Many larger publishers said they stay because they feel the need to maintain a presence, even as they question the need for two annual trade shows. Ron Beers, senior v-p of Tyndale, said he will not bring any authors to the next Advance. "We spend an awful lot of money at CBA. We have to be good stewards. If this experiment doesn't work out, we may end up bringing authors back for the next show." Warner Faith publisher Rolf Zettersten said he expects his division to cut back its budget for the winter show. "If the winter show were to disappear, I wouldn't lament its demise," he said.
Pointing out that the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) runs its own midwinter regionals, Anderson confirmed reports that ECPA asked CBA to consider dropping Expo. "They also approached us about buying Expo. ECPA and CBA have agreed to cross-promote each other's winter shows. This is important because only 20% of Advance attendees go to an ECPA trade show. It's also very important to note that according to our survey of Advance 2005 attendees, only one in five also attended one of the ECPA shows. Our retail members have clearly told us that they want this show—95% of our 2005 attendees tell us that they plan to be with us in 2006."
Convention attendance, however, has been declining over the past several years, and so have membership numbers. The CBA membership of 2,256 retail stores is down 2.5% from a year ago (CBA reported its membership numbers at 2,443 in 2000), and the number of associate members fell 5%, to 619.
Draper is a freelance writer in Seattle.
