Tag Archives: IBS-STL

A Modest Proposal to Save STL UK

Posted on November 14, 2009 by | 164 Comments

We all know that STL UK (or Biblica or whatever they’re calling themselves these days) are in deep doodah. That’s not rumour, it’s fact as stated by the man himself, Keith Danby, in his miscellaneous missives to the trade with repeated references to financial difficulties and ongoing consultations with bankers and others.

There are some signs of hope, of an improved cash flow: one supplier I spoke to this week told me that their account, six months overdue, had at last been paid. Other sources, however, tell me about supplier accounts being put on hold due to non-payment; and I know, from my own experience of having to source goods elsewhere, that warehouse stocks are not what they ought to be, especially at this time of year.

What we don’t know, of course, because they’re not telling us, is how deep STL UK’s financial crisis runs: hundreds of thousands, or millions? If the former — perhaps even if the latter — then I suggest that, if we’re prepared to act together, between us we have the power to rescue them.

UKCBD alone lists more than 600 Christian retailers, most of them actively trading, most of them STL UK trade account holders. Then there are the many church and other account holders as well as all the suppliers: that’s thousands of us who stand — to put it mildly — to be massively inconvenienced if STL UK goes to the wall.

My proposal, modest though it is, is simply this: we buy them out. Between us, we pay off STL UK’s debts — or enough of those debts to make their bankers do a double-take — and take them over as a shared-ownership company. Careful plans, terms and conditions would need to be drawn up, of course; but amongst us, surely, we have the expertise for that.

If as few as 1,000 of us contributed as little as £100 each, that would be £100,000. I think that, however, is a very conservative estimate of the amount we could raise: there are far more than 1,000 of us whose own businesses and livelihoods stand to suffer immensely if STL UK cease trading; and whilst some of us would struggle to find £100, many of us could contribute significantly more than that to a trade buy-out.

We’ve prayed together. The time has come, I think, for us to act together: to put our money where our mouths are and recognise that we ourselves may be God’s answer to those prayers.

Too little too late, I hear you say. Maybe so: the winds of change are blowing in our industry as more and more business is being conducted online; but let’s not allow the Christian book and retail trade in the UK to go down in history as blown away by an errant trade wind when we could have saved it had we only been blown along by the Spirit of God…

Appendix: Biblica Financial Reports

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IBS-STL UK: “a sustainable business ministry model going forward”

Posted on September 15, 2009 by | 2 Comments
IBS-STL UK Trade Announcement 15/09/09

IBS-STL UK Trade Announcement 15/09/09

In a new trade missive released this afternoon, Tuesday 15th September, Keith Danby has sought to further clarify IBS-STL UK’s trading position, reassuring trade partners that “there is a sustainable business ministry model going forward”, reiterating the company’s ongoing commitment to the UK trade and thanking those who have supported the company through prayer:

On the 14th August I made a statement about the current trading position of IBS-STL UK. This was in response to concerns within the trade and rumours circulating regarding our solvency. At that time I informed you that we were neither going into liquidation nor administration and that we were in discussions with our bank, suppliers and external auditors to seek out ways in which we could work together to help improve our current cash flow problems and secure our future.

A team of external Accountants have since conducted a business review of the UK charity, and I am pleased to advise you that they have filed a report highlighting that although IBS-STL has been experiencing some severe cash flow difficulties during the summer months there is a sustainable business ministry model going forward.

We still face significant challenges in this current financial year and are continuing to work hard with our professional advisors, bankers and suppliers to resolve our cash flow challenges and return to normal trading conditions as soon as possible.

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IBS-STL UK – Danby Speaks: there is no immediate crisis within the Charity

Posted on August 14, 2009 by | 2 Comments

IBS-STL UK Trade Announcement 14/08/2009Keith Danby, Global CEO of IBS-STL/Biblica has spoken out in a Trade Announcement issued this afternoon to quell rumours that IBS-STL UK may be “going into ‘liquidation’ or ‘administration’”, reassuring the trade that “there is no immediate crisis within the Charity” and reaffirming his own personal “commitment to support the UK Christian trade both in the retail and supply sectors.”

There have been a number of rumours circulating suggesting that IBS-STL U.K. is going into ‘liquidation’ or ‘administration’. I can confirm that the charity is neither in liquidation, nor in any form of administration.

A number of factors including the SAP implementation have caused STL Distribution serious Supply Chain difficulties, which have resulted in severe cash flow problems.

I met with a number of our key suppliers earlier this week in London to appraise them of the situation…

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Damned by Danby: Harsh or Prophetic?

Posted on August 11, 2009 by | 57 Comments
Keith Danby - a global chief, part 2

Keith Danby - a global chief, part 2

Responses to Damned by Danby: 2009 and the Death of Christian Retail UK — on the original post, privately and in the parallel discussion on facebook (where there are far more comments than here) — have been challenging and thought provoking: my thanks to all concerned and in particular to Michael Gibson who started the ball rolling on facebook with this observation:

1. On first reading I’m still not sure whether this is harsh or prophetic. I do think you’ve looked at Keith’s statements in a lot more depth than me!
2. IF… you are right then please don’t taint the entire STL organisation the same way. There are those within Carlisle particularly with a real heart for the UK retailers. We’ve discussed people like Michael Swan before and he isn’t the only one.

Today, I’d like to make it clear that I have no personal vendetta against Keith: Keith, I appreciate the complex nature of your role as Global Chief of such a massive organisation as IBS-STL/Biblica — I do not envy you the job!

Nor do I have an axe to grind with IBS-STL/Biblica or any of its staff. Everyone I’ve encountered in all the various divisions from Authentic Media and Paternoster through STL Distribution to Wesley Owen has always been unfailingly polite and helpful (I shall refrain, however, from commenting on the competence of the consultants who have been brought in during the last year or so to help with IT projects and branding, although I do wonder about the costs and what those who brought them in were thinking of).

Nonetheless I believe that questions need to be asked. Perhaps I am going about it in the wrong way: perhaps a public forum such as this is not the best place for these concerns to be aired; perhaps I should have approached someone at IBS-STL/Biblica privately. That I took this path, however, is one of the reasons why I’m a bookseller with a blog rather than a politician with a duck house and a parliamentary expenses account.

But let’s duck the duck houses and cut to the chase: when the Global Chief of an organisation the size of and with the influence of IBS-STL/Biblica (offices in 45 countries and 1650 staff, billing itself as “Europe’s leading supplier of English language Christian books, gifts, music, software and video products”) states publicly that he believes that the Christian retail trade in the UK will “never be viable”; when that statement comes on the back of a campaign promoting that organisation’s retail division, Wesley Owen, as “100% Charity” with its implicit suggestion that the rest of us are operating with some other less worthy motives; when that division is actively recruiting volunteers to run its stores; when we’ve already seen the disastrous results of SPCK deciding that its stores were no longer viable; when massive questions are being asked about Oxfam’s involvement in and impact upon the wider book trade; then alarm bells start to ring and it becomes difficult not to see a pattern emerging.

So on reflection, I think my questions for you, Keith, are best raised in public rather than behind closed doors:

  • What are your intentions towards Wesley Owen, your own retail division here in the UK, and its staff, if you believe it will never be viable? Do you intend to capitalise on the company’s charitable status in a bid to operate on a par with Oxfam, running the enterprise entirely or principally with volunteers?
  • If that is the future direction of Wesley Owen, what do you imagine the impact of this will be upon the wider Christian book trade?
  • You’ve already expressed your view that the current economic downturn “may result in some Christian retail stores closing”. Does your unapologetic stance as a commercially savvy businessman (and I see no reason why any apology for that should be necessary, by the way) with a keen desire to run your “‘not for profit’ Christian charity in a businesslike way” leave room for concern at that outcome, for compassion for those whose livelihoods may well be wrecked as a result?
  • If so, what action will IBS-STL/Biblica be taking to continue working in partnership with the rest of us — who have worked in partnership with you for so many years — to keep things, as you put it, equitable? Or do you simply see those closures as collateral damage, as “natural wastage”, to use the trendy, dehumanising parlance of today’s human resources managers?

Of course, I could be wrong. I could be misreading the signs. I could be misunderstanding you — and I very much hope that I am. I hope that I am reading you harshly rather than prophetically: if so, you have my sincerest apologies; but I hope that this clarifies my concerns and that you can see why I do not regard silence as an option.

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Damned by Danby: 2009 and the Death of Christian Retail UK

Posted on August 10, 2009 by | 12 Comments
Keith Danby - a global chief, part 2

Keith Danby - a global chief, part 2

Over the last few months Christian Marketplace has run a series of reports and interviews featuring Keith Danby, previously CEO of STL and now Global Chief Executive of IBS-STL/Biblica, a series that I’ve been reading with a growing sense of unease:

This month’s interview clinched my concerns:

We’ve got to understand that, by and large, Christian retailing is never going to be viable in the UK. Our market is not big enough.

Taken together with the following excerpts this seems to present a rather worrying trend:

1. Keith Danby takes control at IBS-STL UK, February 2009:

Asked how optimistic he felt that things might improve for Christian retailing in the short-to-medium term Danby said,

“I do not want to be guilty of making pronouncements concerning the UK trade but I do believe what we are experiencing in economic terms is very serious and deeper than many of us have experienced in our life time. I think it will be sometime before we climb out of it, if it ever returns to what we would consider to be the norm. Consequentially it may result in some Christian retail stores closing. It does however present an opportunity to talk to landlords to see if rents can be reduced.”

2. New structure at IBS-STL UK, taken from Message from Keith Danby, STL Blog, 8 April 2009:

I can assure you that this management team is fully committed to serving the interests of IBS-STL UK, our suppliers, stakeholders and the Christian Retail trade, and I trust together we can work hard to build our business together.

Perhaps I am reading more into Danby’s words than he intended, but I find it difficult to believe that the sequence within this statement — 1. IBS-STL UK, 2. suppliers, 3. stakeholders and 4. the Christian Retail trade — is accidental: Global Chiefs do not tend to construct their sentences haphazardly. Under Danby’s leadership, then, IBS-STL/Biblica exists to serve its own interests first and those of the Christian Retail trade last.

This appears to be confirmed in the opening paragraphs of his latest interview, Keith Danby: a global chief – part 2, August 2009:

CJ: There’s a perception around in the UK industry that Keith Danby is a hard-driving businessman who drives people hard. Is there another side to Keith Danby then?

KD: Yes there is. I make no apology for the fact that, if you cut me in half, part of me is very commercial – but the other half is very missional. I don’t see any contradiction in that. I want to run this ‘not for profit’ Christian charity in a businesslike way. I want it to be equitable.

CJ: You have to make money right?

KD: Yes, I want to be fair, but at the same time right now we have offices in 45 countries, we have 1650 staff, and it is my responsibility to ensure that this ministry is viable.

The next question invites Danby to address the implications of this but he effectively sweeps it aside with a one-word answer — “Absolutely” — and talks about his workaholic tendencies instead.

To this observer at least, however, the transition within barely six months from “I do not want to be guilty of making pronouncements concerning the UK trade” to “We’ve got to understand that, by and large, Christian retailing is never going to be viable in the UK” seems to require something more than a one word answer.

  • What level of commitment, if any, do we now have from IBS-STL/Biblica to support and work with the UK Christian retail trade beyond their own interests?

Danby is right in what he affirms: the UK Christian book/retail trade needs collaboration, change and — perhaps most of all — the church; and it’s encouraging to see someone of Danby’s status in the trade highlighting these points — points that all of us involved in Christian retail have long been only too well aware of. Last year I expressed it like this:

Is that why we’re there, to serve the local churches? Or are we there to serve the local community as resource centres for their spiritual lives? Or are we simply there on a par with every other business, competing to make a profit? Can we do all three — serve the local churches, serve the local community and make a profit?

For Christian bookshops profit isn’t — or shouldn’t be — our driving force: we are called be a prophetic presence on the high street, not simply another profiteering one. And for that we need churches behind us, supporting us as part of their mission strategy, helping us to reach out to our communities, to be places where people asking questions about spirituality and faith can make their first tentative steps.

From: Christian Bookshops — who needs them?

Or in Danby’s more recent words:

I have absolutely no doubt in my mind as to the missional value of Christian bookshops in the UK. I believe that our Christian bookshops provide a Christian presence in the community. There are people who will come into a Christian bookshop but would never go into a church.

So our Christian retail presence is carrying out an important missional activity. And the church doesn’t embrace that; church leadership doesn’t embrace it. But the community and the church needs to understand the importance of a Christian retail store, being part of its Christian work, witness and worship in this country. Until the church catches that vision our shops are always going to struggle.

I believe that the church needs to financially support this witness and presence in the community. So although I have no doubt of the missional value, I do really question the viability.

Is Danby also right in his denial of the trade’s ongoing viability? I think not. Yes, shops are struggling. Yes, shops have closed. Yes, people like the Brewer brothers have caused havoc and betrayed the trade.

When, however, IBS-STL/Biblica’s Global Chief Executive not only questions the trade’s viability but publicly states that “by and large, Christian retailing is never going to be viable in the UK” then I personally begin to fear a much deeper betrayal in the making.

I hope that I am wrong, but these words from an old Larry Norman song echo in my mind:

I knew a girl,
sweet as could be,
but she fell for a man
like a chain sawed tree.
She listened to his lies,
was fooled by his charms,
now she’s sitting
with a baby in her arms.

If you, my fellow booksellers and retailers, now feel rather like that girl in your relationship with STL, you are not alone…

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IBS-STL: sort-of rebranded at last

Posted on August 8, 2009 by | Leave a comment

It’s been a slow train coming since we first heard it rumbling along the tracks back in March, but it looks as though the IBS-STL rebranding loco is at last rolling in towards the station with official announcements released to the press last month. A brief report appeared in the Church Times, 24 July, 2009, and a longer report in this month’s Christian Marketplace, where Keith Danby explains:

“After nine months we ended up with over thirty possible names and we decided to go with Biblica. That will be the global name – Biblica USA, Biblica UK, Biblica Africa etc.”

Danby also said that it had not been finally decided what to do with the subsidiary brands adding, “For the time being we’ll still carry on as STL Distribution, Authentic Media and Wesley Owen in the UK and OM Books in India.”

The story behind the new name reads, unfortunately, rather like a rehash of the software shenanigans we experienced from STL last year, with a team of consultants brought in to help the organisation get to grips with its identity crisis:

Biblica’s Global Chief Executive, Keith Danby, told Christian Marketplace, “When we started looking at the rebranding, in 2008, we brought together an internal cross-company, cross-cultural, crossfunction and cross-gender group to work with a professional firm of branding consultants. The brief was very simple: the name could not be International Bible Society nor could it be Send the Light and it must be something that refers to the Bible or to Scripture.

“Three months later they came back recommending the name should be: 1) A one-word name (if you have something that is multi-worded it gets squeezed down to an acronym), 2) A created word, a made-up name; i.e. Google or Yahoo or Ikea are now global brands, 3) The name should have B-I-B-L as the first four letters. 4) A word which works crossculturally – easily pronounceable around the world.

One hopes that the end result of using a borrowed name was negotiated under license by the branding consultants and is not due to someone forgetting to do their homework…

Published since 1920 by the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, Biblica is a research journal and appears four times a year. It is dedicated to biblical studies on the Old and New Testament, and intertestamentary literature, and covers fields of reseach [sic], such as exegesis, philology, and history.

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For I am ashamed of the Gospel: Christianity’s Crass Commercialisation

Posted on July 9, 2009 by | 24 Comments
New from Testamints

New from Testamints

When products like this appear I am embarrassed to be Christian retailer. I could, I suppose, walk by on the other side or look the other way and claim that as a specialist in academic theology this has nothing to do with me — but in truth it is that very theology that cries out against the crassness.

Let me put this very simply: it takes more than sticking a Bible verse on something to make it a Christian product; and tacking Bible verses onto packets of chewing gum does not make them ‘fit for purpose’ — except, perhaps, to be spat out in disgust, as Christ is depicted by St John of the Apocalypse, spitting out the luke-warm water of shallow commitment. But please don’t spit it out onto the pavement: the last thing I want is this stuff stuck to my sole to then be trampled into someone else’s carpet (that’s what’s known as a spit infinitive, by the way).

And stuff like this does stick: it sticks to our souls, tarnishes our spirits, contaminates and undermines this entire once-glorious enterprise for which Christ died. The man of sorrows weeps once more as the Good News, the message of a love stronger than death, of lives transformed, is reduced to Bible verses on packets of bubble gum.

What makes it worse is the source: STL. Send the Light. True, it’s STL USA, but is not STL now one single, global corporation combined with IBS, busily rebranding itself as Biblica?

What next, I wonder? Christian-branded toilet paper with a Bible verse on every sheet and the strapline, “Now you don’t need to wash your hands afterwards.”

Something deep in the heart of this particular Christian just died.

STL Distribution - Keeping you informed of the latest Christian titles & products!

New from Testamints

Testamints Sugar-free Gum is now available in a completely redesigned package in two best-selling flavors: peppermint and spearmint.

Testamints has been providing encouragement to Christians from all walks of life since 1998, and the sugar-free gum packs have been proven best-sellers at the checkout counter since their initial introduction.

Each package contains 12 pieces of delicious US-Made sugar-free chewing gum, and a carefully chosen Scripture verse is also printed on the back of every package. With a commitment to helping Christian’s [sic] share their faith with a product that people use every day, Testamints Sugar Free Gum is an easy way to introduce the gospel to a friend, relative or colleague.

What makes Testamints gum so unique? It’s the name that everyone instantly appreciates. And Testamints supports Christian ministries worldwide. As soon as someone mentions the name “Testamints” the connection is made with a quality product that bears a scripture verse to help “Pass The Word.”

Ensure you are always well stocked with Testamints Gum at your checkout counter. It’s the most recognized best-seller in the USA and Canada.

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Christian Bookselling: “the best job I have ever done” – Andrew Lacey, GLO

Posted on May 8, 2009 by | 3 Comments
What are they saying about CBC/CRE?
For behind the scenes conversations at this year’s combined Christian Booksellers Convention / Christian Resources Exhibition, follow these twitter hashtags:

My thanks to Andrew Lacey of GLO Bookshop for this thoughtful follow up to his previous response to my cry of despair over the chaos at STL:

To clarify several points. 

1. When I say I’ve worked with a number of other companies, I mean five other retail companies over 30 years, from supermarkets to sportwear. I arrived in the Christian book trade some five years ago. So I have seen some pretty poor service and inept systems management. And I can assure you that, overall, I was very impressed by the general standards in the book trade supply chain when I arrived (Orca excepted….!). And STL were certainly were showing the way.

2. Yes, there has been six months of problems, and I don’t make light of them lightly (if you see what I mean). But I do think that, overall, the attitude of the people at STL has been remarkably open & contrite. I have seen similar problems on a number of occasions(and have, regretfully, also been involved in inflicting similarly ill-tested systems on long-suffering end-users). They are not easy to solve, and I’m sure if STL could have resolved them six months ago, they would have done so.

3. The idea of a boycott did make my mind leap to a mental picture of myself standing at STL on a picket line. As my kids would say to me, ‘Too far, Dad, that’s just too far’. I’m sorry if I have trivialised what is to all of us a serious matter, and will think a bit more carefully before hitting that fatal ‘Submit Comment’ button the next time……

4. While I don’t agree with the idea of a boycott, we should all be assessing our supply chain. One of the reasons why I enjoy being an independent bookseller is that we can assess the best distributor to place orders- looking at margin, availability & delivery. And at GLO, we are certainly doing that, and our proportion of business has markedly changed in the last six months. And, if STL are worth their salt, they will come back fighting to regain that market share – hopefully enticing us with good offers, good service, and resolution of the issues they are facing. And, yes, they need to take advantage of offers to get good information about what is happening at the sharp end.

5. And, finally, if I seem to make light of all this at times, perhaps it’s because I am (still) hugely enjoying myself in this trade. After years of bringing in lorry loads of milk crates in the Scottish sleet at 6.00am, and contending with drunk/smashed/agressive yobbos when trying to close the shop at 9.55pm, I think this is the best job I have ever done. It may be pretty busy, it may have its frustration, but it is a privilege to be able to do it. I work with a great team, I get a lot of job satisfaction, and I really look forward to going to work each morning…..In my previous job, I would have been too exhausted to even think about ‘blogging’!

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BA Christian Booksellers Group AGM – Steve Mitchell Reports: STL Blog

Posted on April 30, 2009 by | Leave a comment

Steve Mitchell writes on the STL Blog:

We’ve just hosted the Annual General Meeting of the Christian Group of the Booksellers Association in Carlisle. Sounds a little stuffy…no way! It was a real privilege to host 25 retailers and 3 representatives from the BA. We spent Tuesday afternoon giving them a guided tour of our facility in Carlisle, from marketing to customer services, the offices and through to the warehouse.

It was really helpful for our folk in Carlisle to meet and spend a little time with booksellers, particularly in customer services, where both booksellers and our team, who talk regularly on the phone, could now meet in person…

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What’s happening at STL? BA CBG to Carlisle, blog updates coming soon and invoices – aaaargh!

Posted on April 28, 2009 by | 8 Comments

Today sees the the BA Christian Booksellers Group gathering at STL HQ in Carlisle for its AGM tomorow. The timing, regrettably, is such that I can’t be there, but I take this opportunity to wish all who do attend a very worthwhile meeting: I look forward to hearing what transpires. Who will make up our new committee? What will STL have to say for themselves?

Yesterday I tweeted Steve Mitchell (@SCRMitchell) — head honcho at Wesley Owen and a member of the STL blog team — to find what’s happening with their blog, which hasn’t been updated since the Message from Keith Danby was posted a few weeks ago. Steve tells me that we can expect some updates after today’s and tomorrow’s meetings and assures me that the issues being raised in the comments will be addressed: watch that space.

I was also up until midnight beating my head against the brick wall of STL’s incompetence, attempting to reconcile my invoices with their latest statement and their postings at batch.co.uk: the phrase “dog’s breakfast” barely begins to cover it. It took me approximately 20 minutes to whizz through all my other suppliers invoices; then almost 3 hours to work through STL’s, and I was still left with over £500 of unreconciled invoices and credit notes.

The problem is exacerbated by STL’s failure to make use of the batch claims system. For those who don’t use batch, allow me to explain: batch has a very straightforward way of dealing with invoicing errors. You call up the invoice onscreen, identify the problem item, select a reason for your claim (wrong item supplied, incorrect carriage charge, wrong discount etc) and hey, presto: that item is magically removed from your invoice total, allowing you to pay the remaining balance whilst your supplier deals with the claim.

STL, on the other hand, insist on doing their own thing, raising a separate credit note whenever they screw up and then reinvoicing. Sometimes the credit notes cross reference the original invoice; sometimes they don’t. As I said: dog’s breakfast.

This is not a criticism of those wonderful folk in STL’s customer services department who are continually working their socks off, who remain unfailingly polite as they attempt to pick up the pieces in the midst of the ongoing chaos. Janette Ivison and Michael Swan in particular deserve recognition for their good humoured and efficient responses whenever I raise a query: my thanks to both of them and to those working with them. The problem is that the queries I constantly find myself raising should not be necessary in the first place.

Today, I shall attempt to reconcile the rest of my STL invoices and credit notes. It may or may not work, but it will almost certainly take most of the day. I am close to despair and seriously considering boycotting STL as a supplier.

It’s become clear that I am not alone in feeling like this: STL, be aware.

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