Christian bookstores lose out to chains, Internet

By: Zachary Lewis/Religion News Service

Posted: 6/24/07

Ohio - David may have defeated Goliath, but in the battle between independent Christian bookstores and retail giants, it's the little guy who's losing.

If what's happening in the Midwest is any indication, small, locally-owned religious bookstores and church suppliers are going out of business, conceding defeat to the Internet and retailers like Wal-Mart, Borders and Target.

One of the latest to fall: The Word Christian Resource Center in suburban Parma Heights, Ohio, the third and final store in the small chain to close since 2005.

"People don't understand what's going on," said owner Rob Haskell, whose parents started The Word in 1976. "If people are willing to give up their local jewels, that's one thing. But if they're not, they need to support the independent stores."

Nationwide, 623 Christian book and supply stores closed between 2005 and 2006, according to The Association for Christian Retail (CBA). Meanwhile, demand for Christian products is greater than ever. CBA member stores reported total sales of $4.34 billion in 2004, $340 million more than in 2000.

Retailers say one factor is more consumers are shopping by computer. Sometimes, Haskell said, patrons use his store to view the item they want before buying it online.

"There isn't one day that goes by that the Internet's not brought up by my customers," he said. "That's the 800-pound gorilla."

In many cases, consumers aren't even shopping online. They're downloading or copying what they want freely from sites like Bible.com and Biblegateway.com.

"People don't need to buy Bibles ...and I can't disagree with them," said Nancy Davis, owner of Buckeye Church Supplies in the suburb Rocky River, which closed its street-level store last June and fell back on its basement warehouse.

Wal-Mart's Web site directs visitors shopping for Christian books to a range of specific sub-genres and lists organized by denomination. The books are often discounted 20 percent to 40 percent and shipping is typically 97 cents. At Amazon.com, most purchases of more than $25 qualify for free shipping.

Family Christian Stores, a national chain with 300 stores in 37 states, also maintains an active Internet component selling everything from Bibles to apparel, church supplies and DVDs.

Tom Cousineau, owner of Henninger's religious goods, said his family's 86-year-old company in Cleveland has remained profitable in part by embracing the tech wave and mounting an Internet business in 2002. "You don't buck the trend. You go with it," he said. "We make sure we know what's going on."

But even Web sites with advanced profiling abilities can't replace the personal touch or expertise of staffers at neighborhood stores, he said. "I'd rather recommend an author to you, and you realize I know what I'm talking about, and then you'll come back to me," he said.

Business owners say customers who used to buy crucifixes, Bible software and Christian music at their shops now get those items the same place they buy shoes, groceries and electronics.

The co-owner of the area's largest Christian bookstore, Rainbow Family Book Center in Maple Heights, recently sent a letter to customers explaining her struggle as a result of the increased competition. Alice Wilson said she wrote the letter after watching sales decline by 10 percent each of the last three years. Sales during January and February were down 25 percent from those months last year.

Buckeye, where the employee roster has dropped from 14 to three, has stayed afloat on sales of church bulletins and Communion supplies, two types of products still in relatively high demand. Davis said she's just trying to hold on long enough for her employees to become eligible for Social Security.

Smaller stores are also less attractive to publishers and distributors, many of whom have ceased offering discounts on small orders or have begun selling in bulk directly to churches.

Davis said it's often cheaper for her to buy certain products herself at Target or Wal-Mart and resell them, rather than pay the manufacturer's price only to charge the customer less.

There have been surges in sales. One came after 9/11. Another came after the release of Mel Gibson's film, "The Passion of The Christ." But neither lasted long enough to rescue stores already in trouble. Some of what's hurting small Christian bookstores stems directly from the nature of Christianity itself.

Because most Christian bookstore owners are also devout Christians, they say they're often loath to engage in hard-nosed competition like other business owners. Retailers say they practice the kindness their books preach, routinely referring customers to each other. "We compete, in a way," said Joseph Sua, owner of Sua Religious Goods. "But then again, we don't."

Zachary Lewis writes for The Plain Dealer in Cleveland.