The Christian Bookshops Blog

UKCBD Updates: An Update…

Phil Groom — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 08:30:34 +0000

UK Christian Bookshops Directory

THANK YOU to everyone who has sent in bookshop updates over the last few weeks: this post is simply to confirm that those updates are in progress. As with any voluntary project, however, these things take time: depending upon other commitments (such as church, family and earning a crust to keep the wolves from the door), you’ll sometimes see updates appearing almost instantly whilst on other occasions it may take anything from a few days to several weeks.

Please remember that you can keep track of the latest updates either via the UKCBD homepage or here, via the Latest Updates page; and please also remember that you can leave comments or update info directly on any standalone entry or on any other page of the Directory.

Bookshop closures are usually reported in the News posts (and tagged Bookshop Closure), on facebook or via twitter (either via my personal stream or the official UKCBD stream) as they are brought to my attention, but Directory updates will often lag behind somewhat, as much as anything because I find making those changes thoroughly disheartening.

Last but not least, please do keep those updates coming in: thank you.

Light Shines on in the Darkness as more Redundancies and Shop Closures hit Wesley Owen

Phil Groom — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:30:17 +0000

Update, 26/1/2011: Official announcements about the closures have now been posted by Wesley Owen: Bath | Bristol (pdfs, identical apart from the store locations and dates of closure)
The Bath Chronicle published a report on Weds 25/1/2012: Christian bookshop closes its doors

NEWS EMERGED YESTERDAY of further redundancies at Wesley Owen as the Bath and Bristol stores closed their doors for the last time; and whilst in certain respects that news — coming so soon after the weekend’s news of more job losses at TMD — might seem beyond worse, all is not yet lost: Richard Greatrex, former manager of the Bath store, has branched out independently with his own venture, Windflower Books.

Describing the project in a welcome message on the company’s newly launched website and blog, Richard writes:

Windflower Books has been in existence since 2007 as a small scale concern selling secondhand and remaindered theological books on the internet, supplying bookstalls for communities and events and publishing small runs of specialist material.

2012 sees a change in the Windflower venture as we seek to supply the needs of individuals, churches and communities in the South West who have lost their own local Christian Bookshops.

From a small start we hope to develop a system of bespoke bookselling tailored to the specific needs of each community we are working with. We are in the process of negotiating our first sites for enhanced bookstalls in local churches. Keep checking our blog, our Facebook page (Windflower Books) or our Twitter feed (windflowerbooks) for further details…

Read more »

If you live in the South West and would like Richard to provide bookstall services for your church, do give him a shout: full contact details are available on the facebook page; and if you live further away, just hit that facebook Like button anyway to cheer him on.

Richard, I salute you: may the Lord bless you richly in this venture, and may your bookstalls be many and more popular than you can even begin to imagine.

Follow @windflowerbooks
Shop now via the Windflower Books Amazon Storefront

From bad to worse in Carlisle as yet more staff face job losses at TMD

Phil Groom — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 10:45:00 +0000

HOPES THAT the recently announced sale and privatisation of Trust Media Distribution would secure the future and bring stability to the organisation have been crushed as yet another round of redundancies has been announced. Writing in the Carlisle News & Star on Saturday, Matthew Legg, the paper’s Business Editor, describes staff as shocked by the news:

News & Star, Carlisle, 21/1/2012: Jobs Under Threat at Carlisle Book Firm after Takeover

JOBS UNDER THREAT AT CARLISLE BOOK FIRM AFTER TAKEOVER
Exclusive by Matthew Legg Business editor

Last updated at 10:21, Saturday, 21 January 2012

Seventy workers at a Carlisle bookseller have been told their jobs are under threat after the firm was taken over.

The new owners of Christian book distributor Trust Media – formerly Send the Light (STL) – have begun redundancy consultations with staff as they look to streamline the business.

The firm has not revealed how many jobs will eventually go, but the figure will not exceed 20 because the company has not entered the formal 90-day consultation period required to lay off more than 20 workers at once.

Bosses say the cuts are essential to secure the future of the Kingstown business and that they hope the bulk of the job losses will come through voluntary redundancies and retirements.

Staff are said to be shocked at the news. They are expected to discover their fates next week.

The report goes on to cite Paul Davies, a member of TMD’s senior management team, who describes the situation as “an unfortunate necessity” to ensure that the company continues trading in Carlisle “securing a substantial number of jobs in the process.”

In a further report by Lisa Campbell in the Bookseller yesterday, Pete Barnsley states:

Since January there has been a big injection of capital so for the business this has been a really positive move. But it has also brought with it a review of the whole business which includes consultations with staff. There will be a degree of staff reduction but we don’t know how many yet. It will be fewer then 20 positions.

Both reports refer to the company’s change of focus as it seeks to work with a wider customer base beyond its traditional role as primarily a supplier to the Christian retail trade, mentioning WH Smith and Amazon in particular. Inevitably, however, the current situation begs the question of whether or not a “streamlined” company with fewer staff will, in fact, be capable of serving that wider — and more demanding — marketplace as well as continue to efficiently serve its existing customers?

Shaped by the Story: Hot off the press from BRF, Antony Billington introduces Whole Life, Whole Bible

Phil Groom — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:30:36 +0000

THIS AFTERNOON — much later in the day than I’d intended — it gives me great pleasure to introduce Antony Billington, an old friend of LBC/LST vintage, now Head of Theology at LICC; and Antony himself introduces his book Whole Life, Whole Bible, hot off the press from BRF, co-written with Margaret Killingray and Helen Parry.

It’s a book that fills a gap many church leaders have longed to see filled, not only giving an overview of the biblical story but designed to show how that story continues into and through our own lives today, ideal for church members who want to dig a little deeper into that epic narrative and experience more of it for themselves and their neighbours.

Antony writes:

Whole Life, Whole Bible

‘Tell me a story’ and ‘Once upon a time’ – a four-word request and a four-word opening. Both phrases capture something of the universal human desire for stories. Indeed, our own lives are submerged in several interconnecting ‘stories’ – of living through or in the aftermath of the Second World War, of being married with grown-up children, of working in finance, of having a passion for collecting stamps, of serving on the PCC, of holidaying in Cornwall – and all these ‘stories’ shape our lives in different ways.

For Christians, of course, the most crucial story for shaping the way we think and live is the biblical story. From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible can be seen as an epic narrative: a story which begins with God as Creator, which focuses on Israel as the people who will bring God’s blessing to the nations, which the New Testament declares has come to its promised fulfilment in the redemption brought about through Christ, in whom God’s purposes for the universe will be consummated.

Whole Life, Whole Bible is designed to walk through the unfolding story of the Bible in 50 readings and reflections. More than a Bible overview, however, the book has been written with the conviction that God’s word sets the agenda for our lives as followers of Jesus today. And it does so for the whole of life – on Monday to Saturday as well as Sunday, in public and in private, in culture as well as in church, in work as much as in worship. Moreover, this ‘whole-life’ perspective is not limited to a few biblical passages here and there, but is woven through the story as a whole – from creation to new creation.

Those who enjoy daily reading notes will benefit from an opportunity to see how the big story of the Bible provides a way of understanding how individual passages relate to each other in the larger picture. Beyond that is the reminder that we are a part of this ongoing drama which embraces the entirety of our lives – individually and together – for the sake of the world in which we are called to live.

Whole Life, Whole Bible aims to show how the big story of the Bible forms our minds, fuels our imaginations, and fashions our daily existence – as we live in God’s world in the light of God’s word, taking the Lord of life into the whole of life.

Personal orders may be placed via your nearest Christian bookshop or direct with BRF
Trade orders may be placed via TMD

Whole Life, Whole Bible
50 readings on living in the light of Scripture
Antony Billington, Margaret Killingray and Helen Parry
BRF, January 2012
9780857460172
£6.99

Live in or near London? Attend the official launch celebration – tickets £8, including refreshments and a copy of the book:
Where: LICC, St Peter’s, Vere Street, London W1G 0DQ
When: Monday 23rd January 2012, 6.45-8.30pm

Reflections from Roger Pearse: Christian bookshops – the key part of the local church?

Phil Groom — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 11:30:11 +0000

MY THANKS to Roger Pearse for kind permission to reproduce this thought provoking and challenging post from his blog, all the more challenging given the number of bookshop closures we’ve seen over the last year or so. Roger’s observations echo many of the conversations we’ve had here over the years, going right back to my Christian Bookshops — who needs them? (2008) and The Future Shape of Christian Bookselling (2009) amongst others; but it’s a conversation that is far from over and, if we’re to find a way through the present crisis, it needs to continue — with even more urgency than we’ve pursued it before.

All comments and feedback welcome here, as always, but don’t miss the discussion emerging over on Roger’s original post…

Christian bookshops – the key part of the local church?

I did something unusual today. I didn’t buy a book from Amazon.

Not that I buy a book every day from Amazon: I mean that I decided to buy a book, but to order it in from my local Christian bookshop.

Almost certainly it will cost more. But the Christian bookshop is a funny thing. That’s because it isn’t really just a bookshop.

A friend gave me the name of the manager of my local one at Christmas, and I’ve popped in and introduced myself. Suddenly I find myself connected to a network of people who know people, or know of someone. Today I wanted to learn of someone connected to me who was working in the church in a town in the south of England, in order to help someone. The lady knew of someone. For the managers of these places effectively function as an information exchange.

The pastoral role of the Christian bookshop is invisible unless you know that it is there. Yet this too is critical — you can go in, and find people to talk to. The churches themselves — I mean real churches — are lamentably bad at working together in a single small town, and the common need of their members for books means that the bookshop acts as a centre, a place where notices are displayed and people congregate.

Some bookshops take it a step further and add on a coffee shop. St Aldates bookshop in Oxford ca. 1980 did just that. It was very cramped, but then students don’t mind that at all. I often went there as a convenient place to meet.

Christian bookshops came into being in the 60′s and 70′s because bookshops and news agents would not stock popular Christian paperback books or publications. You could order them, but this involved a long wait, no chance of browsing and often was frankly a faff.

Consequently the publishers started to set up retail outlets where their wares could be displayed. Since Christians always wanted the books of Michael Green or David Watson, they naturally became information exchanges.

The convenience of internet shopping means that it will usually be quicker and cheaper to buy a book at Amazon. That was not the case back in the day, since the Net Book Agreement standardised book prices anyway.

So the problem is that the modern Christian bookshop has no real economic basis. The publishers are finding them unviable. They can now sell their books through Amazon.

Yet the bookshop is needed. Indeed if you want some advice on books to buy — as I did today — what use is Amazon?

I don’t know what the answer is, I admit. Let us pray that God finds a way around this. Change is inevitable; but not at the price of wiping out the bookshop.

All change and no change at TMD online

Phil Groom — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 11:00:08 +0000

TMD New Website: Annotated Screenshot

MOST TMD TRADE CUSTOMERS should have received notification by now of the imminent changes to their website, tmdistribution.co.uk: this is simply a reminder that the switchover happens this evening, at 6pm, at which point we can say a happy farewell to the old and overstretched STL Distribution site that TMD inherited. If you’ve missed the announcements, however, you can read all about it here:

Reminder: new Trust Media website launching today!

The new site promises to bring a number of significant changes, perhaps the most important of which is a long overdue reconfigured search engine, alongside improved navigation and product availability information.

Two critical things that won’t be changing are the URL (website address) and your login details: there’s no danger of losing access to the site itself; but whilst your account will be carried over, your order history won’t be, and nor will any orders in the shopping basket. If you wish to keep a record of your order history, you’ll need to login today, before 6pm, and either print it all out or save it in some other format; and if you have an incomplete order in the shopping basket, you’ll need to either finalise it before 6pm (in real terms, think earlier to save overloading the servers at that point) or make a note of the items and re-enter them on the new site later.

It’s too early to say congratulations on a job well done to TMD’s IT wizards: time will tell on that point; but certainly congratulations are due on a job long overdue. I look forward to hearing how it all works out…

Midweek News Roundup: Business as usual at TMD; Paul Owen appointed as Director Of Sales at Kingsway Distribution; and SU Bookshop Dublin reopened under new ownership

Phil Groom — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:45:40 +0000

Business as usual at TMD
Paul Owen appointed as Director Of Sales at Kingsway Distribution
SU Bookshop Dublin reopened under new ownership

Business as usual at TMD

MY THANKS to Pete Barnsley, TMD’s Supply Chain & Marketing Team Leader, for his prompt response to yesterday’s report on the sale of Trust Media Distribution to the company’s CEO, Ken Munro, Another twist in the post-STL tale as TMD enters private ownership. Emphasising the security and stability that this transition brings to the organisation and its workforce as well as the company’s continued commitment to Christian wholesaling, albeit reduced in scope, Pete writes:

TRUST MEDIA, IT’S BUSINESS AS USUAL!

We are pleased to share this exciting news with you and are delighted that the change of ownership enables strong financial strength and ongoing investment for the future. It will also underpin our commitment to continued distribution and wholesale of Christian Books, Bibles and Resources to you. Our focus (and most significant part of our business) remains on developing our services to the Christian Trade with a comprehensive supply of a wide range of US publishers, a focused selection of UK publishers and industry leading Christian card & gift. Also to clarify, we will continue to be the exclusive wholesale partner for John Ritchie Ltd distributing all of their published content to the UK trade.

We are confident that you will see a high level of service as we move into and through 2012 and we are pleased to be making such a wide range of Christian Resources available to you.

Letters about the situation have been issued to retailers, who can expect to receive them within the next few days.

Paul Owen appointed as Director Of Sales at Kingsway Distribution

CONGRATULATIONS to Paul Owen on his appointment as Director of Sales at Kingsway Distribution. In a letter to the trade issued yesterday evening, Greg Tombs, Kingsway’s Managing Director, writes:

I am very pleased to announce that Paul Owen has accepted and been appointed to the position of Director of Sales-Kingsway Distribution. Paul’s hard work, experience and dedication over the past 8 years has won him the respect and recognition of the Christian book trade and general market customers in the UK, as well as his peers and colleagues at Kingsway. Having twice been recognized with the Sales Representative-of-the-Year award by UK Christian Retailers which makes him an excellent fit for this role.

Paul will report directly to Greg, whilst the Area Managers (David Borg and Oli Proctor) and telesales reps (James Batterbee and Christine Wrench) will report to Paul, whose portfolio of responsibilities includes overseeing all direct sales activities and working with other members of the management team in formulating an overall strategic plan for the organisation here in the UK.

SU Bookshop Dublin reopened under new ownership

New business ownership: Shop Opening Jan 3 2012 as Footprints Bookshop

LAST BUT FAR FROM LEAST, wholehearted congratulations to Valmai Gee, who has taken the brave step of reopening the former Scripture Union bookshop in Dublin as an independent store following a decision by SU at the end of last year to close down its retail operations. Writing on the shop’s facebook page on Christmas Eve, Valmai explains:

Dear Friends,

I am writing to you to inform you that Scripture Union will no longer be operating the Footprints Bookshop at 43 Talbot Street, Dublin 1.

The recession has taken its toll on Christian bookshops and they feel it is no longer viable for them to be in the retail trade.

As of January 2012, Footprints Bookshop will be operated by me as a sole trader: Valmai Gee T/A Footprints Talbot Street.

Please continue to support us as we continue to promote Scripture Union “Authentic Youth”, Bible Reading Notes and Sunday School material.

Valmai continues,

This follows the way of Footprints Cork and Footprints Dun Laoghaire.

Though essentially we are independent bookshops trading under the “Footprints Bookshop” name, each of us believe Ireland needs Christian bookshops on the street. We have… each taken on the task to keep the bookshops running, to serve the churches who work hard in outreach and discipleship, and to serve individual believers in their own spiritual growth and desire to reach others for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Many blessings, Valmai Gee.

At a time when so many bookshops are closing, it’s wonderfully encouraging to discover someone bucking the trend: Valmai, I salute you — may the Lord bless you richly and may many customers pass through your doorway to make your venture worthwhile and viable!

Find Footprints Bookshop, Talbot Street on facebook

Another twist in the post-STL tale as TMD enters private ownership

Phil Groom — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:20 +0000

Trust Media Distribution - The new name for STL Distribution

IN A TRADE ANNOUNCEMENT issued late yesterday afternoon – just after 5pm – Trust Media Distribution (previously trading as STL Distribution), Carlisle, announced the sale and privatisation of the company to its CEO, Ken Munro.

The change follows an extensive period of restructuring and consolidation within the company as it has sought to realign itself with the changing realities of Christian retailing in the UK, during the course of which it has reduced staffing levels whilst expanding its reach into the secular marketplace with an increased focus on gift product and, most recently, reduced its range of Christian publishers bringing its role as a Christian wholesaler to an end.

Exactly what the change of ownership might imply for Christian retailers remains to be seen, but the evidence of the facebook conversations thus far indicates a distinct sense of uncertainty and disorientation within the trade…

Update, 11/1/2011
Pete Barnsley responds: Business as usual at TMD

Join the facebook conversations…

TMD Links

Farewell to Christian Bookselling in Nottingham

Phil Groom — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:15:26 +0000

NOTTINGHAM, once home to some six Christian bookshops, is now apparently without any, following the reported closure of Beeston’s Christian Book Centre to make way for a tramline.

That’s all.

Sadness mingled with hope as EMW Cardiff bookshop closes down

Phil Groom — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 08:30:17 +0000

EMW Bookshops Newsletter, December 2011: Cardiff bookshop closing

SADLY, LAST YEAR’S APPEAL FOR NEW OWNERS to take over their Cardiff bookshop proved unsuccessful and the Evangelical Movement of Wales have now announced the shop’s closure, due to shut its doors for the last time on Saturday 14th January:

The Cardiff Bookshop

You may already have heard the sad news that our Cardiff shop is closing. If you are in the Cardiff area it would be a great opportunity to take advantage of their closing down sale. Their sale starts on the 28th December and the final closing date is Saturday January 14th. Call in to bag lots of bargains. Please also pray for our staff there: Stuart and Alan as they seek employment.

EMW Bookshops Newsletter, December 2011

Writing in the shop’s November prayer letter, bookshop manager Stuart Arnold expresses mixed emotions: sadness at the shop’s demise but hope for the future as a number of local church leaders join forces for a new evangelical initiative in the city:

Cardiff Christian Bookshop - Prayer Letter, November 2011 (pdf, 418kb)

Dear Friends,

I have really mixed emotions as I write to let you know our latest news. We have been unable to secure funding to support the shop through the next financial year. We will, therefore, be closing down in January. The staff will be redundant, the stock sold off and the premises returned to the landlord. We have benefited from the financial support of the Evangelical Movement of Wales (EMW) for many years and we reported in our prayer letter last February that this support was coming to an end.

We intend to serve customers as well as possible and to remain a light for the gospel here in the city centre right up until 5.30pm on 14 January 2012. We are fully stocked for Christmas and would encourage you to still use us between now and then.

A Christian Centre for Cardiff

If you read our last prayer letter, you will be aware of our proposed Christian Centre for Cardiff. In support of this, we have prepared a fairly comprehensive Information Pack which was supplied to interested churches in August. We had an encouraging meeting with church leaders in September and there are now several local churches which have joined the team to carry that project forward. With the closure of the existing bookshop, we will no longer be seeking to maintain a continuous service to the city. The new ministry will be a completely fresh start, under local ownership, hopefully being opened later in 2012.

Other Christian Bookshops in Cardiff

Unlike the situation for many smaller towns, the demise of this shop does not leave Cardiff without a Christian bookshop: details of other shops across the range of denominations and theological persuasions, including the former SPCK bookshop, trading independently since July 2008 as Churches Together Bookshop, may be found under Cardiff in the UK Christian Bookshops Directory:

BOOKS Plus
Cathedral Bookshop
Churches Together Bookshop
Heath Christian Bookshop and Tearoom
The Olive Branch

Updates for all UKCBD entries are in progress: details of the most recent updates are listed on the UKCBD Home Page and here, under Latest Updates (link at the top of every page and post).

Christian Bookshops elsewhere in Wales (Welsh Book Trade Info)