The Christian Bookshops Blog

Now you see them, now you don’t: Christmas is over and 27 Christian bookshops have been unceremoniously wiped off the map. Officially only 26 shops have vanished: Biblica/IBS-STL UK operated 40 branches of Wesley Owen, of which 14 have been saved by Koorong and CLC. The figure of 27 derives from the 41 branches previously listed by Wesley Owen, of which the odd one out was Woking, run as a franchise (h/t ‘Spoiler of Mysteries’).

This is the Wesley Owen map as it stood on December 11th:

Wesley Owen Store Finder, as at 11 Dec 2009

… and as it stands today:

Wesley Owen Store Finder Today

Koorong, the new owners of the Wesley Owen brand and domain, wesleyowen.com, are, of course, quite right to update the store finder to show only their own stores, and no criticism of Koorong is either intended or implied by this post.

But what of Biblica, former owners of the 26 abandoned shops? As I write there is still no mention of this sorry episode on their current news page: it’s as if the shops — and more to the point, their staff — have been simply deleted from Biblica’s history.

With those 26 shops now in administration, I guess there is no formal or legal duty of care on Biblica’s part towards the business or employees that they have disowned. Given all that we have seen in the last few years, perhaps it is unrealistic of me to expect better from a Christian organisation … yet somehow I still find myself hoping for a little more integrity from Biblica, an indication that there is some sense of pastoral care, some sense of moral responsibility… that they will not simply turn their backs on their workers and walk away…

In the meantime, here’s where the disowned shops may be found: please continue to pray for their staff and for local church groups to catch the vision and seize the day. Click through the town name for the full address:

THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time during this past year to visit, comment, or otherwise contribute to this or the SPCK/SSG blog: it’s been an honour and a privilege working with you.

My gift to you all, a small token of my appreciation, is a goat, courtesy of Farm Africa. Rather than link to the video and risk overloading Farm Africa’s servers (a very real risk given the level of traffic this blog has seen recently, especially over over the last month or so), I offer you a few screenshots:

Farm Africa Presents...

Farm Africa Presents... a goat!

... and a goat provides milk.

To all this blog's friends and supporters...

To find out more or to give your own goat, visit Farm Africa for yourself.

Christmas: to us, a child is born: to them, a goat is given. The child is born for them too, of course, for each and every one of us: born into poverty, forced to flee as a refugee, eventually returning to be rejected by his own. But somehow, in that process, setting us free.

There’s no magic, no fairy lights or tinsel on the Cross at the end of the story; but a glimmer of hope in an impossible-to-believe resurrection. I urge you: hold on to that hope. Many here feel broken, betrayed, bereft by what has taken place within our trade over the past year or so … the future remains uncertain, especially for those 26 (0r 27?) shops and their staff for whom there was no room at the Biblica inn and now unceremoniously wiped off the Wesley Owen map; and for those in the Durham Cathedral shop, left out in the cold by the Charity Commission.

And yet … and yet we see signs of hope, most recently in Chichester, where churches came together to save their local Christian bookshop. It can be done; and I hope and pray with you all that we will see more initiatives like this emerging over the coming year.

Grace and peace to you all,

Phil

STL - Stick with us

Ken Munro, new CEO of STL Distribution, has today written to STL’s trade customers to announce that “STL Distribution is back in business and working hard to return to the standard of service both suppliers and retailers have come to expect over the years.”

As well as restocking the warehouse and working to re-establish agreements with previous trading partners, the company has announced that SAP will be disbanded and the previous working system reinstated:

The transition project is already well underway and we expect to have the updated Informix platform operational within the first quarter of 2010. This is not a high risk IT project, with significant in-house knowledge and experience being brought to bear and previously robust process and technology being re-activated. Interim operational processes and IT are in place to ensure that service is minimally impacted through the transition.  We will communicate the detailed IT plan in January and provide regular updates going forward.

This inevitably begs the question of why Biblica failed to take exactly this course of action a year ago; but wherever the faults lie and whatever the answer to that question, this is surely a time to celebrate and to welcome John Ritchie Ltd to their new role.

Ken Munro, I salute you!

• Read the full message on the STL Blog: A message from Ken Munro, the new CEO of STL Distribution

Jobs Page Added

Given recent developments, it’s inevitable that some people will be seeking new jobs. With those people in mind, I’ve added a new page: Jobs. It’s open to all Christian employers and prospective employees to exchange details subject to acceptance of the following terms, cited on the page:

Please note that no endorsement of any person or organisation is implied. Any relationship or transaction established between you and any other party exists only between you and that party: it is your responsibility to satisfy yourself that the other party meets your requirements. By posting here, you agree that you accept these terms and that you accept full responsibility and liability for any information that you provide.

The page’s usefulness is entirely your call. It is offered free of charge, but donations towards the costs of running UKCBD are always welcome: please get in touch if you’d like to contribute.

Day of Prayer Page Archived

We still need to keep one another in prayer, of course, and I hope that the new year will present us with new opportunities for co-ordinated prayer, but for now I’ve archived the Day of Prayer page under What’s On > Day of Prayer

Press Release - Carlisle, 21st December 2009 (pdf, 102kb)

Details of the new ownership of IBS-STL UK’s three trading divisions have now been confirmed in an official press release issued today (full text below | pdf, 102kb) as follows:

• Authentic Music has been bought by Kingsway Communications.
• Authentic Book Publishing and 8 Wesley Owen Stores (Bath Birmingham, Bristol, Bromley, Coleraine, Derby, Glasgow and York ) have been sold to Koorong. Koorong has purchased all of the Authentic and Paternoster intellectual property and author contracts, the freehold properties in Glasgow and York, the Wesley Owen trading name, and the domain name, wesleyowen.com.
• STL Distribution has been purchased by John Ritchie Ltd, which has taken on all of the Carlisle properties, intends to retain Carlisle as a major base of operation and will continue to trade as STL Distribution.
• A further 6 Wesley Owen stores (Bolton, Cambridge, Coventry, Guildford, Kingston and Stockport) have been acquired by CLC International (UK).

The remaining Wesley Owen stores are in administration but will continue trading whilst discussions continue with local groups which have expressed interest in taking on branches in their areas. Other expressions of interest would be welcome:

The administrators are keen to secure future trading from as many of these premises as possible and would welcome any expressions of interest.

Reports Roundup (most recent first, updated 7.45pm, 23/12/2009)

• Biblica sale update – including departure of Gareth Russell from Authentic! Everything Christian, 23/12/2009
• IBS-STL announces sale of Authentic, STL and Wesley Owen stores: Christian Today, 23/12/2009
• Strong Future for Authentic Publishing: Tony Watkins, 23/12/2009
• Recession hits Wesley Owen: Dave Derbyshire, 22/12/2009
• IBS-STL UK sale details announced: Christian Retailing, 21/12/2009
• STL (UK) Broken Up and Purchased By Koorong, Kingsway, CLC and Others: Christian Book Shop Talk, 21/12/2009
• CLC take over Cambridge Wesley Owen Shop: Bishop’s Blog, 21/12/2009
• IBS-STL UK Trade Announcement: STL Blog, 21/12/2009; also posted in the STL Trade Email Archive and at wesleyowen.com
• IBS-STL UK to be broken up: Clem Jackson, Christian Marketplace, 21/12/2009 | Copy of Press Release (Word doc, 26kb)
• Competitors save 14 Wesley Owen branches: Victoria Gallagher, The Bookseller, 21/12/2009 | All Bookseller reports tagged ‘Wesley Owen’
• Press release outlines the future for Wesley Owen, STL and Authentic: Dave Walker, Church Times Blog, 21/12/2009

Full text of the press release follows:

Press Release: Carlisle December 21st 2009

The Board of Trustees and Senior Management of leading Carlisle-based Christian Charity, IBS-STL UK, formerly known as STL are pleased to announce the sale of two of its three trading divisions: Authentic Media and STL Distribution, as well as the sale of a significant number of its retail stores that comprise the third trading division: Wesley Owen.  A large number of jobs have been secured as a result of the sale and the Charity’s mission of ‘Advancing the Christian Faith’ will continue.

The management team has worked closely with the Baker Tilly Corporate Finance LLP over the last month to secure the sale of all or part of the Charity’s business units. Completion of the sale agreements is expected to be finalised by the weekend with the new owners taking control immediately thereafter. This is regarded as extremely good news and ends a period of uncertainty and anxiety for many of our employees.

The sale details are as follows;

• Authentic Music based in Milton Keynes has been bought by Kingsway Communications operating from Eastbourne.
• Authentic Book Publishing and 8 Wesley Owen Stores (Bath Birmingham, Bristol, Bromley, Coleraine, Derby, Glasgow and York ) have been sold to Koorong, which is owned by the Bootes family. Based in Sydney, Koorong has 18 stores operating successfully throughout Australia. It has purchased all of the Authentic and Paternoster intellectual property and author contracts, the freehold properties in Glasgow and York, the Wesley Owen trading name, and the domain name, wesleyowen.com.  They plan to continue to operate from the Milton Keynes area.
• STL Distribution has been purchased by John Ritchie Ltd a rapidly expanding book publisher and distributor based in Kilmarnock, Scotland. John Ritchie Ltd has purchased all of the Carlisle properties and intends to retain Carlisle as a major base of operation. The business will continue to trade as STL Distribution. John Ritchie Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Lord’s Work Trust which has substantial resources and supports Christian outreach and projects around the world.  All profits from the business are returned to the Trust.
• A further 6 Wesley Owen stores (Bolton, Cambridge, Coventry, Guildford, Kingston and Stockport) have been acquired by CLC International (UK) whose head office is in Alresford, Hampshire, and whose stores operate as CLC Bookshops.
• There are ongoing discussions with a number of local groups interested in retaining their local Christian Bookshop.  This may take some time to progress. In the meantime the administrators are continuing to trade from each of the remaining 26 stores. The administrators are keen to secure future trading from as many of these premises as possible and would welcome any expressions of interest.

In each case the new owners will purchase the assets of the parts of the business; no one is taking over responsibility for the IBS-STL UK charity which regrettably will be put into Administration for an orderly wind down.

Commenting on the sales, Keith Danby Chief Executive said, “I am delighted with the developments. I could not have imagined 5 weeks ago such a positive outcome. All along we have had three goals in mind; the continuity of the distribution of Christian resources, safeguarding as many jobs as possible, and finding purchasers who would invest in the businesses and take them to a new level. We believe all of the purchasers fit these aspirations and we wish them every success going forward.”

Danby went on to pay tribute to all the staff, saying, “this has been a very difficult time for all of our staff around the country. Some have worked for the Charity for almost 20 years. They are dedicated, hardworking and passionate about the mission of the Charity. It has been a very difficult year for everyone and the uncertainty of the last month has created extraordinary anxiety for people with families, financial commitments and obligations yet they have continued to fight for the survival of the company and done their very best to keep going.”

Michael Fitch, Chairman of the Board of Trustees also stated his delight, “the work of Authentic, STL Distribution and Wesley Owen is very important in advancing the Christian faith in the UK and we are delighted that this work will continue under the ownership of these high calibre operators. I want to also thank all of the employees for their hard work under difficult circumstances”.

Ken Munro, CEO of John Ritchie Ltd, emphasised the importance of continuity in the existing business and his confidence with regard to the future prospects of the newly extended group.  “Our immediate goal is to quickly return the business to the levels of service and stability that STL Distribution customers have enjoyed over many years.  We will achieve this building on the existing team and infra-structure as the foundation of our future success”. He added “I am confident that this significant acquisition for John Ritchie Ltd will ultimately support and strengthen the CBC trade in the UK, and trust that the future prosperity of the business will make a significant contribution to the on-going mission and objectives of our parent Trust”.

Russell Cash, Partner at Baker Tilly Restructuring & Recovery in Manchester, said, “We are delighted that such a successful outcome has been achieved. We have worked closely with a number of people within the business over several weeks and have been impressed with the commitment and attitude displayed by everybody we have encountered. I am particularly pleased that so many jobs have been preserved and I wish everybody connected all the very best for the future”

“The sales which have been secured are to parties who are well placed, and extremely keen, to continue to operate the business within the traditional core values adopted by IBS-STL over many years.

“Whilst 14 of the retail outlets are now being operated by CLC and Koorong, we are keen to explore interest in the remaining 26 stores with a view to securing a future in the medium to long term. Each of the stores are currently continuing to trade under our control”

Phil Burnham, CLC’s National Director, said, “CLC’s acquisition of these bookshops, whilst presenting us with a number of challenges in the short term, also give us the opportunity to further fulfil our purpose statement. We are committed to keeping these six Christian witness and resource centres open on the high street. In the light of so many bookshop closures throughout this year CLC considered it necessary to act. While on the one hand I wish that we at CLC could have done more, to have done nothing would have filled us with remorse. We continue to pray for our colleagues in the trade and at IBS-STL, each affected to a greater or lesser degree by the recent unfortunate events”.

Ends

Robin Parry has posted the following excerpt from a press release issued on Friday 18/12/2009:

Authentic Book Publishing (including Paternoster)and 8 Wesley Owen Stores (Bath Birmingham, Bristol, Bromley, Coleraine, Derby, Glasgow and York) have been sold to Koorong, which is owned by the Bootes family. Based in Sydney, Koorong has 18 stores operating successfully throughout Australia. It has purchased all of the Authentic and Paternoster intellectual property and author contracts, the freehold properties in Glasgow and York, the Wesley Owen trading name, and the domain name, wesleyowen.com. They plan to continue to operate from the Milton Keynes area.

From: Press Release: Paternoster’s future Secured, Robin Parry, 20/12/2009
[Update: Link removed: Robin's post appears to have been taken down;
the full press release is now available.]

• Update: Strong Future for Authentic Publishing, Tony Watkins, 23/12/2009
• Google Search: Wesley Owen Koorong

21/12/2009: The official press release is now out and no further updates to this page will be posted. Comments remain open.

From Wesley Owen Edinburgh’s facebook page, posted on Friday 18/12/2009 at 21.14:

We are now in administration and will be closing shortly. As will almost all of the Wesley Owen shops. I thank you all so much for your support and can I ask you to pray for all of the staff that received the devastating news today at 5.35.

As for STL’s other divisions, sources elsewhere (contacts on facebook and twitter, who have since removed their status updates) indicate that Koorong and Kingsway (David C Cook) have taken on Authentic, with Koorong taking over the books publishing, Kingsway taking over the music. Koorong may have also taken on some of the Wesley Owen stores [2]. There is as yet no reliable information about STL Distribution [1], but I’m told that an official press release will be issued on Monday 21st December.

This is surely one of the saddest days in the history of Christian bookselling/retailing here in the UK. As per the request from Edinburgh, please pray for all the staff caught up in this mess.

• Dave Walker has also posted about this briefly on the Church Times blog: Wesley Owen Christian bookshops in administration – updated 20/11/2009 with more facebook links: Bath | Cheltenham
• Twitter searches: Koorong | Wesley Owen
• Some Staff Reactions
• The Bookseller: Wesley Owen stores enter administration

[1] Update, 4.15pm: From Everything Christian, Big changes at Christian book supplier:

STL Distribution has been purchased by Scottish book wholesaler John Ritchie. However, it isn’t clear how much of the business they will retain, or which employees will be transferred.

[2] Update, 20/12/2009, 3.15pm: The situation with the shops is reported to be:

• 26 shops told at 5.35pm yesterday that they were in administration
• 6 shops taken over by CLC (Bolton, Stockport, Cambridge, Kingston, Guildford and Coventry)
• 8 shops taken over by Koorong (Bath, Birmingham, Bristol, Bromley, Coleraine, Derby, Glasgow, York, possibly another, along with the website and the Wesley Owen brand)

Reports Roundup (most recent first)

• What now for Christian books in the UK? Wannabepriest, 20/12/2009
• Wesley Owen: The Good News or Bad News? Sacred Fish Project, 20/12/2009
• Wesley Owen stores enter administration: Scottish Christian News Monitor, 19/12/2009
• Urgent! Wesley Owen in Administration: St Thomas Church, Aldridge, 19/12/2009; includes Letter from Rev Mark Kinder about Wesley Owen, Walsall (Word doc for download)
• Authentic goes south? Bishop’s Blog, 19/12/2009
• Wesley Owen: Supersimbo, 19/12/2009

For earlier reports, see my STL UK Crisis: Reports roundup and further reflections (updated) (last updated 12/12/2009).

Sometimes, silence is golden. Other times, it’s terrifying: someone we love breathes their last and the silence suddenly stretches to eternity…

It feels a bit like that with STL UK. We all know that STL as we once knew it is finished. We also know that deals have been done behind closed doors: we watch and wait for a crack to appear, for a little light to shine from those doorways, for STL to live up to its name … but that was the old name, before Biblica. Strange, how these things haunt us…

We hear rumours and rumours of rumours. Buyers for Authentic, Wesley Owen, STL… or not… people get uppity: stop speculating, they say, it’s dangerous!

But the way to prevent rumours and speculation, of course, is with truth and facts, with honesty and openness. That, however, is also dangerous: it makes us vulnerable … imagine, if you can, the most powerful person in the universe … let’s say God … making himself vulnerable … daring to enter our world, to trust human beings to take care of him. No: such a thing would never work: they’d just crucify him…

No. Openness is far too dangerous. We need secrecy. We need silence.

Shush, now, baby’s sleeping…

Several publishers and suppliers have been in touch recently with details of action they’re taking to offer retailers extra support through the current period of uncertainty with STL and/or during the run up to Christmas. This post provides a round up of the information I’ve gleaned or received so far; it is, of course, far from a comprehensive list: comments are open for anyone who’d like to add to it. My apologies for the length of time it has taken to prepare this post.

Starting with STL themselves, STL UK have, as has been their habit for several years now, reduced their carriage-free minimum order level from £75 trade value ex-VAT to £50 from 1st – 22nd December. Full details in their trade email 01/12/2009 and on the STL Blog, Reduced FREE Carriage Offer. Daily cut off points remain at 2.30pm for email, fax and telephone orders or 4.00pm via stldistribution.co.uk (don’t be misled by their “4pm Electronic Orders”: STL do not regard email as electronic).

STL USA have upped their game in an attempt to fill in the gaps resulting from their divorce-in-progress from STL UK and are now offering free carriage to the UK with direct delivery to bookshops rather than transhipment via Carlisle, subject to a minimum order of 15 items. Basic info on the STL UK blog, more details from STL USA. Feedback on the service has been mixed.

Other Suppliers (A – Z)

Caritas Music Publishing offer a wide range of CDs and DVDs with no minimum order requirement and no charge for carriage. Normally new customers would be required to open a Trade Account first before placing orders, but at present customers may place their orders direct with Katharine Douglas and open a Trade Account later, subject to agreement to the company’s trade terms. Many order forms can be downloaded from the website, others can be supplied electronically or by post. See the Trade Customers / Agents and Dealers page or the Caritas Blog for more details.

Gardners have been reviewing their religious stock range and establishing direct links with publishers previously supplied via STL. SPCK and Zondervan, for example, are both well represented, and some hard-to-find Thomas Nelson titles (such as Ian MacNair’s Teach Yourself New Testament Greek) can be supplied Print-on-Demand. Their recently updated Religious Books Catalogue (pdf, 1.5MB) lists over 8,000 titles.

Gates of Praise have reduced their carriage free minimum order value from £50 to £30 throughout December. Publishers distributed include Charisma House, Creation House and Destiny Image.

IVP continue to offer one of the best delivery services to the UK Christian book trade, with no  minimum order level or small-order surcharges and in-stock items on orders placed before 12 noon despatched same day for next day delivery. With HarperCollins now added to their portfolio alongside Bible Society, Crossway, IVP USA, the Good Book Company and Piquant — to name just some of the publishers they represent — IVP provide a vital link in the evangelical supply chain. Download their trade flyer or visit their trade section for more info.

Lindisfarne Scriptorium is offering weekly specials to both trade and retail. Recent offers include cards at half-price, down to 75p each, selected books at reduced prices and their key book and music by Iona’s Dave Bainbridge and David Fitzgerald available together for £19.99 instead of £29.98. Standard trade discounts are 30%-38%, 2% extra for pro-forma/card payments. For several trade outlets they offer 40% discount across the full range of products and if there is sufficient interest then a special card / print offer just for trade as well as generous discounts on the Life Journey range and Life in Christ range is available. To find out more, visit their Trade Enquiries page.

Norwich Books and Music: Like IVP, NBM offer an excellent service, with no  minimum order level or small-order surcharges and in-stock items on orders placed before 12 noon despatched same day — but not for next day delivery: delivery tends to take 3 to 4 working days. With HarperCollins now added to their portfolio alongside their own imprints (Canterbury Press and SCM), Church House Publishing, Darton, Longman & Todd and Epworth — amongst others — NBM provide an important link in the wider Christian supply chain.

Others out there include CLC Wholesale , Integrity-Provident Distribution and Ritchie Christian Media Supplies, of whom we’ll no doubt be hearing more in due course. All parties welcome to leave further details via the comments…

And finally, the Bible Society’s plans to gather the Christian book trade in January seem to be taking shape. The following information was sent out to the trade by email from Steve Briars earlier this month:

Stronger Together – Weaker Apart

… is a consultation and presentation day being organised by CRE/CBC in association with the Booksellers Association Christian Booksellers Group (BACBG), the Publishers Association Christian Suppliers Group and Christian Marketplace magazine.

• Tuesday 12 January 2010
• St Paul’s Church, Robert Adam Street, London, W1U 3HW
• 10.30am for 11.00am – including buffet lunch – concluding by 2.00pm

Topics on the agenda include:

• An Introduction to the new ChristianResourcesTogether Partnership
• A Retailers and Suppliers Conference at the High Leigh Conference Centre
• A Retailers Day at the Christian Resources Exhibition at Sandown Park

Personal  invitations should be sent out before Christmas: responses are requested no later than Thursday 7th Jan 2010. Contact Steve or Mandy Briars at CRE for more information.

Over on the SPCK/SSG News Blog we have issued a call for creditors to speak out about the monies owed to them by Messrs J Mark and Philip W Brewer.

Following the Interim Manager’s call for creditors to submit claims, we now have some degree of national media attention, and there may never be a better opportunity than this to speak out.

• Read more here: Time to Speak out about Unpaid Brewer Debts