This evening, 7pm, Tuesday April 14, 2009, sees the official launch and dedication of the new FM Bookshops Online Shop, fmbookshops.com:
Congratulations to Ally Simpson (@supersimbo) and all involved, with best wishes for every success in the new venture!
On April 6, 2009 we learned from Geoff Wallace that Paul Walker, one of Hodder Faith’s reps to the Christian Book Trade, had been made redundant. In view of the escalating concern being expressed over this situation, the comments made thus far are now reposted here.
Please continue the discussions here rather than on the earlier post. Thank you.
Geoff Wallace, April 6, 2009 at 7:57 pm:
I was very sorry to learn of the news that our Hodder rep Paul Walker has also been made redundant. This seems an extremely shortsighted move by Hodder as Paul was the only rep who travelled to the Christian Bookshops. Paul worked hard as a rep and always made sure he found out answers to questions that we had (and there were many – especially with the dubious policy of getting trendy marketing companies to design Bible Covers).
I can’t help thinking that if Hodder kept a decent range of NIV bibles in print instead of many of them being out of stock, then sales would be up and Paul would still be there.
Phil Groom, April 6, 2009 at 11:41 pm:
That is sad news. Paul, if you happen to read this, I take this opportunity to thank you for your helpfulness and to wish you well wherever you go next.
Geoff, I think you’re right about the Bibles. There was a time when a customer could come into the shop and say they wanted a Bible, we’d look it up (either in the catalogue or online) and order it, job done. Now, we look it up and say, sorry that one’s not available, let’s try another, repeat ad infinitum until we find one available that the customer likes the look of or the customer gives up, whichever comes first.
John Duncan, April 6, 2009 at 10:51 pm:
News to me! That really is a shock!
John Duncan, April 7, 2009 at 8:57 am:
I too would like to wish Paul all the best – he was an excellent rep who would often go out of his way to come and see us if there were any issues to resolve. He also did the odd window display for us! This is a sad loss to the trade.
Martin Deadman, April 7, 2009 at 1:02 pm
I am really sorry to hear about Paul – Definitely another loss to the trade. I do wish him all the best for the future! Most of Hodder’s sales to me are proactive from Paul. Apart from NIV’s I wonder how much future Hodder business I will be doing. And the NIV range is so inadequate. Customers regularly tell me the type of NIV they require which never seems to be available due to the constant changing of the range!
Steve Wood, April 7, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Just want to add my best wishes to Paul wherever he goes. What a shame, another sad loss. Guess I’ll go back to doing Hodders through CLC.
I only had one visit from Paul but he was good at his job and cared for our ministry as well as our business. This was typified by his desire to pray for us as well as sell us books!
Strangely enough I have just discovered this thread while I wait for his latest visit – guess I’ll be waiting a while.
John Duncan, April 9, 2009 at 12:27 pm
I have just had the Hodder Faith April newsletter (the second one they have sent out). At the bottom is a list of area reps, which implies that my Hodder rep is now someone called Gary Reynolds. There was no reps list on the first newsletter they sent out.
I have had no communication from Hodder about Paul Walker’s departure. So has he just been airbrushed from history?
Geoff Wallace, April 9, 2009 at 1:49 pm:
Exactly my thoughts. I have just replied to the email asking why there was no mention of Paul or of the faithful service that he gave to Hodder. Having sent that I then found your comment. I doubt whether Hodder will listen but they do need to know how we feel.
George Elliot, April 10, 2009 at 1:25 pm:
This outrageous and short sighted announcement by Hodder Faith to make an outstanding Sales Representative like Paul Walker redundant, should not be taken lightly. Some years ago Hodder Faith used non-Christian sales people to represent their product into stores – the result was confusion, both by the sales person who did not understand the spiritual content of the books and the buyer, who had to work out exactly what the book’s content was all about!
Yes, we know that the job of the Sales Representative is to sell as much of his/her companies product into stores but the loss of people of the calibre of Paul Walker, who, as Geoff says, go that extra mile to ensure that the best possible information and service are offered and who bring a spiritual dynamic to all they do, should not be ignored.
I suggest that instead of us corporately bleating about ‘the sad loss’ on here, we all determine to make representation to Hodder Faith by letter, email, telephone and fax and make Hodder aware of the implications financially of losing such an asset to their company. Together we really can make a difference. Contact details:
Hodder Faith
338 Euston Road
London
NW1 3BH
UKTel: 020 7873 6051
Fax: 020 7873 6059
hodderfaith-sales AT hodder.co.uk
Phil Groom, April 10, 2009 at 5:08 pm:
To the best of my knowledge there has been no announcement from Hodder.
I have invited Wendy Grisham to respond to the concerns raised.
Posted in Christian Publishers, People News
Last month we noted STL UK’s forthcoming name change to ‘Biblica’, mentioned in the small print on the Wesley Owen volunteer leaflet, Wesley Owen Want You – and a New Name for STL UK? There’s still been no official announcement about that that I’m aware of, via the STL Blog or elsewhere.
Now, courtesy of Christian Retailing USA, report dated April 2nd 2009 and spotted by the eagle-eyed Chris Land of Redruth Christian Book Centre, we learn more of what’s afoot for us here in the UK:
Keith Danby, the global CEO of IBS-STL, has announced a series of leadership changes for the international publishing and distribution group’s U.K. operations…
Detailing the changes in a letter to industry leaders, Danby said the economic challenges that had hit IBS-STL UK and other organizations had been compounded by difficulties with a new computer system, whose installation in October “did not go as smoothly as we would have liked and, indeed, caused problems for our suppliers and customers.” …
Under the new management structure, David Young will serve as general manager and director of human resources, coordinating day-to-day operations in the U.K. as Danby continues to travel in his ongoing role with IBS-STL Global.
As part of the changes Malcolm Stockdale is stepping down as managing director of ISB-STL UK’s Wesley Owen stores to head up a new IBS-STL UK joint venture with a Christian Web company to serve churches and parachurch organizations.
Hello Keith :: friendly wave :: big smile — I know lots of people think the USA is the Centre of the Universe these days, but this is the UK division you’re rearranging: it would be good if you could keep your UK partners in the loop too, please.
I suspect I’m not alone in feeling more than a tad … how shall we say this politely? … irritated … by the continuing chaos that has disrupted the UK’s Christian book trade since the less than smooth implementation of that “new computer system”. Finding out about these plans like this feels rather like rubbing salt in the wounds…
David, Malcolm: I take this opportunity to wish both of you well in your new roles.
Malcolm: would love it if you’d be kind enough to tell us more about this “joint venture with a Christian Web company to serve churches and parachurch organizations” and what this might imply for STL’s relationship with us, your existing Christian retail partners, please.
Thank you.
Posted in Bookshop Ramblings, News
Tagged Biblica, Christian Book Trade, David Young, IBS-STL, Keith Danby, Malcolm Stockdale, STL, Wesley Owen
I asked this question on twitter in response to an article I found on the Canadian Christian publishers and writers blog, Future Tense: Are Warning Stickers on Book Jackets coming to Canada?
Do Christian booksellers have a duty to “protect the minds” of their customers?
Most Christian bookstores in Canada carry items with the potential to cause the least offence to the fewest people possible, because they don’t want to lose customers or forfeit that big Bible order from the local church. Here’s a trend I sure hope doesn’t spread from the US to Canada. Lifeway Christian Stores, the large, and powerful, and conservative, American bookstore chain owned and operated by the Southern Baptist Convention denomination, has developed a company practice to sticker certain books with the words, “Read with Discernment.”
It’s a trend that I wouldn’t want to see emerging here in the UK either, a trend which begs the question of why we’re in business as Christian booksellers. Are we there to help maintain the status quo of established doctrine and dogma, stocking only those titles that meet the approval of particular church leaders? And if so, which church leaders, given that most of us will have several different denominations represented in the areas we seek to serve?
Or are we there to provoke and challenge, to provide a prophetic presence on the high street? To be places where people will find books that challenge their faith, forcing them to think through what they believe and why — and then go on to explore what that implies for the way they behave?
Or are we there as mission outposts? Places where people who wouldn’t be seen dead in a church — even for their own funeral — can walk in and explore questions of faith and spirituality freely and openly, without fear of being bludgeoned over the head by any one particular blinkered view of Christianity?
Or are we no different to any other booksellers: simply there to make a profit by supplying our customers with whatever books they want, no questions asked?
Putting aside the issue of insulting the intelligence of our customers by suggesting that they might not read with discernment anyway, placing warning labels on books also raises an important ethical question: if we believe a book is going to lead people astray or put their spiritual lives in jeopardy, then is it not hypocritical to stock it and take a profit from its sales, even if we do sticker it up with a ‘spiritual health warning’? I can just imagine the conversation: “But Lord, I did put a sticker on it…”
My stock policy at LST is to carry as broad a range as possible within the constraints of my budget: to stock titles that will encourage my customers to think outside the evangelical box, that will enable them to engage critically with the full spectrum of Christian thought rather than simply pander to preconceived notions of what Christians are supposed to believe. What’s your stock policy, and why?
Today, April 2nd 2009, is this blog’s 1st birthday — a massive thank you to everyone who has joined in and made it worthwhile!
It’s been an interesting and sometimes entertaining year in which we’ve survived threats and bullying from J Mark Brewer, co-owner of the former SPCK bookshops, who wanted to silence reporting on his mistreatment of his employees and somewhat innovative business practices. If you’re unfamiliar with that story you can read all about it at SPCK/SSG: News, Notes & Info — the best place to start is probably here: New to the SPCK/SSG Story, or just feeling lost?
We’ve also featured 21 Guest Posts from contributors as diverse as Gregory MacDonald, The Evangelical Universalist, through to Charmaine Aserappa, author of the beautifully illustrated children’s story, Message in the Sand, with its timely and important message about taking responsibility for the environment. Could you be our next Guest Post contributor? Please let me know if you have an idea for a post.
I’ll refrain from commenting on the last six months of chaos at STL apart from to observe one good thing that has emerged out of it all: the STL Blog. I think it’s probably fair to say that the STL blog team still have some way to go in mastering the art of online conversation, but it’s certainly a step in the right direction, opening up the channels of communication. Congratulations are due to Steve Mitchell in particular, I believe, as I think it was largely his initiative that set the STL Blog rolling.
Top Posts
The all-time top five posts are:
The post that attracted the most comments was my review of the McGraths’ The Dawkins Delusion: that conversation eventually petered out after 46 responses, but the issues surrounding it have not gone away.
Visitor Stats
For my final look back over the past year, a chart showing traffic through this blog from April 2008 to March 2009:
Visitor Stats April 2008 - March 2009
Thanks again to everyone who has been involved and encouraged me along the way: I hope you’ve enjoyed and appreciated it as much as I have. As to where we go from here: that’s your call — all suggestions welcome!
Party on, people!
Posted in Announcements, News
Tagged Birthday, Former SPCK Bookshops, J Mark Brewer, Top Posts
A warm welcome to Authentic, who entered the blogosphere on March 10th 2009 at authenticmedia.blogspot.com along with a whole team of twits (or should that be ‘twitterers’ — what do you think?) to keep us entertained and up to speed. A-Z by twitter username:
Apart from Robin, who appeared here in a guest post last year, I’m not quite sure what their individual roles on the Authentic team are — hopefully that will emerge on the blog, in their tweets or even in the comments here. Thanks to Michael Ward for pointing me to the blog — via twitter, of course.
