January 24, 2012

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

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, News | Tags: , , , , |
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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: Job Under Threat at Carlisle Book Firm after Takeover

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?

 

January 14, 2012

All change and no change at TMD online

Posted by Phil Groom under News | Tags: , , |
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TMD New Website: Annotated Screenshot

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:

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…

 

January 11, 2012

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

Posted by Phil Groom under News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , |
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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

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!

 

January 10, 2012

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

Posted by Phil Groom under Book Trade Ramblings, News | Tags: , , , |
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Trust Media Distribution - The new name for STL Distribution

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

 

November 30, 2011

Failed Hopes and Broken Promises: TMD give retailers 3 days notice on dues cancellations from seven major UK Christian publishers

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Suppliers, Distribution Services, News | Tags: , , |
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Update, 30/11/2011, 5.30pm:
TMD’s Pete Barnsley has kindly responded with some points of clarification explaining how this situation came about:
Some Points of Clarification

LAST MONTH, Trust Media Distribution made a special point of reassuring retailers that their UK supplier review would involve no significant changes in the vital trading period before Christmas:

WEDNESDAY, 26 OCTOBER 2011

UK Wholesale Review – Christmas supply unaffected

Please note following yesterday’s announcement regarding our UK wholesale review, that there will be no significant changes to supply until the New Year and so Christmas supply will remain largely unaffected. We are committed to making changes to supply in the New Year ensuring minimal disruption and a high level of service during this period.

This week, that promise collapsed with an innocuously entitled post, UK supplier update | Order deadline extended | Stock Update, which gave retailers only three days notice that dues from seven major UK Christian publishers would be cancelled and no further orders would be accepted as from tomorrow, 1st December 2011:

At the start of the review it was our intention to continue with the supply of UK publishers through to the end of 2011, however, from 1st December 2011 we will no longer be supplying the following publishers to the trade: Scripture Union, CWR (including dated materials), Kevin Mayhew, IVP, Church House Publishing, St Andrew Press and SCM Canterbury Press. Pendings for these suppliers will be cancelled and orders placed after 1st December will not be fulfilled.

Whether the fault for this failure lies with TMD or the specific publishers concerned is a moot point: the disruption to trade that this inevitably causes could hardly have come at a worse time. Retailers, be aware, check your backorders, and order elsewhere.

Some Points of Clarification: Pete Barnsley Responds

Reason for the review
Over the past 18 months/two years there has been a significant paradigm shift in the UK Christian trade in terms of supply and sales of UK Wholesale. For Trust Media this has been a difficult area within the business and everything has changed: lower demand – part due to the recession and more significantly due to retailers going direct to the publisher (as you would expect), margins are tighter and therefore there’s a significant impact on gross profit. In many cases terms have altered and even reduced to a pro-forma basis. We wouldn’t expect a retailer to buy cash-up-front from us, and we have endeavoured to continue with supply as best we can on this basis, but we are no longer able to do so. Therefore we have undertaken this review, which is necessary to ensure continued improvement in our service to customers long-term.

Timing
There is never a good time to make changes, but these are necessary. Of the seven suppliers mentioned, five of these have not been available through Trust Media for many months, even longer in some cases. Both CWR and SU have recently taken the decision to alter supply from December 1st; unfortunately we have not been able to extend supply to January 1st, as originally anticipated.Our preference would be to make an announcement at the end of the review, as we’re still part way through, but we took the decision to give this update in order to give the retailer as much time as possible to make alternative arrangements so as to have as little negative impact on Christmas trading as possible.

Supply
We are continuing to supply where we have stock of the seven listed publishers but would recommend the retailer checks first and orders direct when necessary.

 

November 18, 2011

CWR: Improved terms for retailers, and hello CLC Wholesale, goodbye TMD

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Suppliers, Distribution Services, News | Tags: , , , , , , |
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CWR Trade Announcement 18/11/2011

CWR Trade Announcement 18/11/2011

IN A MESSAGE TO RETAILERS issued today, CWR have announced improved terms for retailers and bid farewell to TMD (Trust Media Distribution), with a move to CLC Wholesale coming into effect as of  1st December 2011.

Retailers ordering direct from CWR who were previously on discounts between 35%-39% will automatically be raised to 40% as standard, with other discounts remaining unchanged. In the message, CWR say:

We hope this will go some way to help you in your valuable High Street ministry and enable you to continue to order and sell CWR products.

In practical terms the move to CLC Wholesale means that TMD will no longer be able to supply CWR products such as the much-loved and popular Every Day With Jesus Bible reading notes. The decision to switch follows on from TMD’s own recently announced review of their UK wholesaling policy:

TMD’s recent decision to cease UK trade wholesaling and to reduce the number of titles they hold has led us to review our trading arrangements with them. We have enjoyed a close relationship with STL/TMD over many years and we wish them well in their excellent work in the distribution of Christian resources. Therefore from the end of this month, CWR resources will be available either direct from us and from the CLC Warehouse.

In conclusion, CWR reiterate their ongoing commitment to the UK high street retail trade:

We wish to thank you for all your support and loyalty in helping to make CWR products available to churches and individuals across the country. We want to reiterate our desire to continue working with you, now and in the future, to ensure the stability and growth of your bookshop and its ministry.

CLC Wholesale have themselves recently announced plans for a trade ordering website: in their words, “Watch this space!” At present, stock announcements are being made via their facebook page but orders must still be placed by email, fax or phone.

Twitter Connects…

 

October 28, 2011

No change before Christmas as TMD prepares for “significant” reduction in range of suppliers

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Christian Suppliers, Wholesale Services | Tags: , , , , , , , |
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Update, October 29, 2011: Eddie Olliffe reflects on the viability of specialist Christian wholesaling: Book Trade – Reflections on the UK specialist wholesaling model
TMD: Trust Media Distribution - The new name for STL Distribution

TMD: Trust Media Distribution

TWO ANNOUNCEMENTS in rapid succession from TMD this week have highlighted two of the constant challenges faced by Christian booksellers and retailers: stock availability and range.

In the first announcement, issued on Tuesday 25th October, TMD stated that their range of UK publishers would be “reduced significantly” following a review of their current supplier base. That review is now underway with conversations between TMD and suppliers that one, who did not wish to be named, described as “what appeared to be an ultimatum to improve terms or sever our relationship”.

Although TMD’s initial announcement specified that no significant changes would be made “until the New Year”, it nonetheless raised the inevitable spectre of previous disruptions to the supply chain in the run up to Christmas, and a second announcement reiterating that “Christmas supply will remain largely unaffected” was issued on Wednesday, a point that Pete Barnsley, TMD’s Supply Chain & Marketing Team Leader, was keen to emphasise in a conversation with him later that day: retailers can remain confident that it’s business as usual at TMD.

I asked Pete what the reduction in range implied for STL/TMD’s one-time ambition to be the “One Stop Shop” for Christian retailers and he acknowledged that those days were over, admitting that in some cases it makes more sense for retailers to go direct to publishers for better terms and availability.

Given that the publishers listed in the initial announcement fall largely into the evangelical/pop/USA categories, I also asked what the range reduction implied for the more academic, catholic, liberal and mainstream UK Christian publishers: is this a theological narrowing of the range or a focus on the “big guys”? Pete wouldn’t be drawn on who might be in or out until the review is complete but emphasised that TMD’s aim is to serve the entire Christian marketplace across denominational boundaries, and that publishers with a single line were as likely to be included in the new mix as those with hundreds of lines.

The situation, Pete explained, is a case of facing up to reality: better to focus on what TMD can do in terms of publishers whose product availability they can be confident of rather than raise unrealistic expectations amongst retailers and end up letting both them and, ultimately, their customers down.

Retailers whom I contacted were broadly empathetic: the “One Stop Shop” was a fantasy and few, if any, have been wholly reliant upon STL/TMD, sourcing elsewhere as necessary despite the inconvenience of the extra admin involved in dealing with smaller orders and extra invoices.

The question remaining is whether other distributors or wholesalers can step up to the mark? No one was available to comment from Norwich Books & Music, but Phil Burnham, CLC’s UK Director, advised that CLC Wholesale would be willing to assist where appropriate:

CLC Wholesale would be very happy to hear from booksellers if there are items in keeping with our Statement of Faith that they would regularly source from us if we carried them. I’ll pass on any related comments to my wholesale colleagues for their consideration.

 

May 20, 2011

News Roundup: 10 Years of The Good Bookstall | Bob Hartman Story in New World Record Storytelling Attempt | Facebook Update | Living Oasis Edinburgh Closing | and more…

Posted by Phil Groom under Christian Book Trade, Lion Hudson, News | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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UPDATE 7.45pm, 20/05/2011: Living Oasis Edinburgh to Cease Trading 4th June 2011

In an announcement posted on facebook this evening, Living Oasis Edinburgh have indicated that they will cease trading on 4th June 2011.

MY APOLOGIES for the lack of news postings here over the last few weeks: life, as they say. As always, however, there’s been plenty happening in the trade — and plenty more coming up — so I’m pleased to be able to present a mix of stories old, new and forthcoming. Don’t forget to give me a shout anytime you have news to share: here, on facebook or via twitter…

In Brief…

The Christian Book Centre, Redruth, is seeking new owners as the current owners prepare for retirement. The shop won the CBC ‘Small Bookshop of the Year’ Award 2008.

The Good News Centre, Newent, which celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, has an attractive new website up and running, designed by Nigel Steele at Quoakle: goodnewscentre.com

Macclesfield’s new Christian resource centre, The Hope Centre, is now open: congratulations to all involved.

Pilgrim’s Progress Bookshop, Hereford, are hosting a book signing with local author Donald Southey for his new novel I Messiah on Thursday 26th and Friday 27th May 2011, 12 noon – 1.30pm both days. Free tea and coffee will be served!

St Mark’s Press have moved their distribution back to Fairway Marketing from STL/Trust Media Distribution, with immediate effect.

St Paul’s Bookshops (Birmingham, Leeds, London and York) have entered the blogosphere: follow them at stpaulsbookshop.blogspot.com

STL UK are now trading under their new identity, Trust Media Distribution. Old email and website addresses will continue to work, but now’s the time to get up to speed if you haven’t already done so. On twitter @TrustMediaDist

Former Waterstone’s Boss Dominic Myers has woken up to reality at last and acknowledged the need for joined-up thinking in the book trade: “We’re all in this together,” he says. Welcome to Farewell from the world of independent bookselling, Dominic…

10 Years of  The Good Bookstall: Celebrations at CRE

MY PERSONAL THANKS AND CONGRATULATIONS to Mary Bartholomew and the rest of the team at The Good Bookstall for their generous hospitality at CRE last week: it was an honour and a privilege to be able to share in their 10th anniversary celebrations, as well as to meet so many other friends and colleagues from the trade during the course of the day.

Mary Bartholomew with the Good Bookstall's 10th Anniversary Cake

Mary Bartholomew with the Good Bookstall's 10th Anniversary Cake

For a few more photos featuring some of the booksellers and publishers present see my CRE 2011 facebook photo album:

Facebook Photo Album: CRE 2011

Facebook Photo Album: CRE 2011

Bob Hartman Story in New World Record Storytelling Attempt

The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book

The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book

DO YOU ENJOY STORYTELLING? Then make your way to the Peace in the Park Festival at The Ponderosa in Sheffield on 4th June where Self Help Africa are planning to set a new world record for the most adults reading aloud to children at a single location. The chosen story, Tortoise Brings Food, is an African tale retold by Bob Hartman in the The Lion Storyteller Bedtime Book.

Bob says:

I’ve been telling stories professionally for over twenty years, and I am always amazed by the power of a story well told to capture and entertain and delight. Sharing stories with children is an opportunity to cement a relationship and shape a life. I’m so pleased to be involved in a project that encourages parents to read to their children, and at the same time, contributes to the needs of parents and children in Africa. Let’s break the record and make a change in the world!

Storytelling starts at 3pm, with Guinness World Records adjudicators present. More details and a pdf practice sheet of the story available from Lion Hudson: Lion Children’s Books in world record storytelling attempt!

Facebook Update (Updated 21/05/2011)

IT’S ALL HAPPENING on facebook with FM Ballymena and  Manna Christian Centre, Streatham, setting up new pages — don’t be shy now, click on through and hit those Like buttons: you know you want to … and you never know, they might even like your pages in return.

Meanwhile, if you happen to be up north or are passing through Edinburgh at lunchtime on 23rd May, St Andrew Press would love to see you at their General Assembly Event celebrating their new life as part of the Hymns Ancient & Modern family:

Saint Andrew Press, the publishing house of the Church of Scotland, will be holding a special General Assembly event to celebrate its new life working as a part of Hymns Ancient & Modern. Come along and enjoy lunch, hear about the many resources available, meet staff and friends of Saint Andrew Press and collect vouchers for limited numbers of free copies of Leith Fisher’s fantastic But I Say To You!

RSVP to Michael Addison: full details on the event page…

Living Oasis Edinburgh Still Trading Closing Down (Updated 7.45pm, 20/05/2011)

Living Oasis Store Finder from CRE 2011

Living Oasis Store Finder CRE 2011

DESPITE AN APPARENT GOOF-UP by the company’s publicity department, which somehow omitted the Edinburgh branch from flyers (pictured) and School Catalogues given out to punters at CRE last week, I’m reliably informed that Living Oasis Edinburgh, the company’s sole-surviving store north of the border, is still in business.

UPDATE 7.45pm, 20/05/2011: In an announcement posted on facebook this evening, Living Oasis Edinburgh have indicated that they will cease trading on 4th June 2011.

Elsewhere, unfortunately, things are also looking less than hunky-dory with still no news of opening dates for the all-new bright-and-shiny Leeds and Liverpool stores. Independent sources indicate that a number of suppliers have learnt the hard way and, fingers burnt by non-payment of bills, have had to withdraw credit facilities, leaving staff in some shops struggling to meet customer requests: please continue to pray for everyone caught up in what seems to be a crippling downhill spiral.

To end on a more positive note, however, the company did manage to put on an impressive stand at CRE offering free coffee for anyone spending £5 or over: congratulations to all concerned.

New MD for Alban Books

WENDY RIMMINGTON, who was appointed as MD for Alban Books in November last year, has moved on, making way for new MD Jonny Gallant, formerly of Saint Andrew Press. Commenting on his appointment in a brief press release (pdf, 41kb), Jonny said:

Alban Books is a very exciting company, working with a terrific range of US publishers and I’m really looking forward to putting my sales and marketing background to use in facing the opportunities and challenges ahead.

I’ve invited Jonny to contribute a guest post to tell us more: watch this space…

Norwich Christian Resource Centre Enters Nominations for Telegraph Book Club Tour

CONGRATULATIONS to Norwich Christian Resource Centre, one of several Christian bookshops that have entered nominations for the Daily Telegraph/National Book Tokens Book Club Tour. In the section explaining why the shop should be chosen to host a Book Club Tour event, they say:

We hold book signings and author discussion evenings on a monthly basis usually complimented by a two course meal with wine/coffee in our 44 seater cafe.

The events are not always faith based and we have local historian and author Neil Storey talking about the history of Norwich in September.

Sadly we were just unable to attract PD James last Christmas as she felt she was now too old to travel. A monthly book club has met for the past 11 years reading authors as diverse as Delia Smith to Kate Atkinson. I would ideally like to attract Sally Vickers.

Other Christian bookshops nominated include:

Nominations are still open: head on over there today if you’d like to submit your own nomination…

Wildcard: Sainsbury’s Wins Bookseller of the Year Award

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Congratulations to Sainsbury’s on winning The Bookseller‘s “Martina Cole General or Chain Bookselling Company of the Year Award”:

Sainsbury’s was honoured with the Martina Cole General or Chain Bookselling Company of the Year Award after reinvigorating book zones, increasing book sales by more than 33% and attracting new book buyers to the market. One judge said: “We should celebrate the fact that they are embracing books and offering people an alternative place to buy—somewhere they can spend time browsing as well as buying.”

Full story: Quercus publisher of the year at The Bookseller Industry Awards

Whether or not Sainsbury’s genuinely qualifies as a bookseller is a hotly contested issue in the report’s comments section: well worth reading. From my point of view there’s a certain irony here: having moved to Sainsbury’s following LST’s redundancy proceedings last year, I now find myself working for the nation’s leading bookseller — and I haven’t had to restock a single book in my entire time there…

 

May 5, 2008

So you want to open a Christian bookshop?

Posted by Phil Groom under Advice | Tags: , , , , , , , , |
[3] Comments 

The two most frequently asked questions in my correspondence are:

  1. Will you review my book?
  2. How do I go about setting up or opening a Christian bookshop?

There are other questions, of course: we’ll get to those another time. But for the moment, being contrary, I’ve decided to address the second one first. This advice is far from being a comprehensive business plan: these are simply a few suggested starting points. If you’re already a bookseller, please do add your own comments and suggestions.

Updated 25th June 2011

  1. Start by checking the UKCBD Town & City Index and by asking around: is there already a Christian Bookshop in your area? If so, it’s unlikely that there will be enough business available to support another: go and talk your ideas through with them and see whether you can work together.
  2. Visit as many as possible of the local churches and other Christian organisations in your area to canvas support. (Thanks to John Duncan for raising this point).
  3. Subscribe (free of charge) to this blog. In particular, look out for the News Roundup reports for latest news and commentary on the UK Christian book trade and the wider world of Christian retail.
  4. Keep an eye on thegoodbookstall.org.uk for news, reviews and a vast array of other useful information.
  5. Contact the Booksellers Association (BA) – amongst other things they administer the National Book Tokens scheme and Batch, an online supplier payment system which will help streamline your admin. The BA can provide all sorts of information/advice on things to be aware of, possible pitfalls, sources of supply, deals on shop fitting, insurance, legal advice, systems etc. The BA’s Christian Booksellers Group can offer more specific advice for Christian booksellers. The membership subscription is based on your annual turnover.
  6. Contact TMD (Trust Media Distribution, previously STL-D, Send the Light Distribution). Despite an unfortunate history following a failed attempt to upgrade their IT systems in October 2008 (see STL: A Month of Darkness and related posts), the company has made a good recovery under new ownership and is once again arguably the UK and Europe’s leading Christian wholesaler. They will almost certainly prove to be one of your main suppliers if you decide to go ahead. For options on other suppliers, see Christian Wholesalers: is there anybody out there? It may also be worth contacting members of the Christian Suppliers Group.
  7. Consider subscribing to Christian Marketplace magazine: published bi-monthly, it includes regular columns from the BA Christian Booksellers Group and the Publishers Association’s Christian Suppliers Group along with various other helpful features. Subscriptions are currently free of charge to UK Christian retailers.
  8. Consider attending Christian Resources Together, the successor to CBC, the Christian Booksellers Convention. For many years CBC was the UK Christian book trade event, but in 2009 CBC handed its operations over  to Bible Society’s Christian Resources Exhibitions.  More info and related discussions.
  9. Consider charitable registration: it’s a complicated business but ultimately worth it for the tax breaks and advantages.
  10. Register your shop for inclusion in this site’s Directory!
  11. Come back here and tell us about your experiences.
 

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