The world is changing. Every market and every organization is facing changes. In the church world we are having to reevaluate everything also. I blogged recently about church buildings and church services. If we are going to be in an ever-changing world then we must be ever-changing. Change is always hard. The best things in life, however, are never easy. Thanks for being willing to make hard decisions. Your example as a leader in the short time I’ve followed you has been a great encouragement to me.

That said, I was wondering if you could answer a question? What led to the decision to spend money on CBE in Dallas rather than ICRS? It seems to me that the two decisions are related and that TN has decided CBE is where to invest time and money. If that is the case, then it would seem that TN has decided to invest more in direct to consumer avenues. Will you be selling books at CBE? How will attendees at CBE be directed to local bookstores if at all? What is your opinion of direct to consumer sales vs. retailer sales? Is this a direction TN is heading in?

Again, thanks for the information you have posted!

A consistent requirement I have seen in all three avenues (even though the retail and music industries are for profit, and churches are not) is regardless of your position in any of these industries–as a publisher, musician, store owner or pastor–we are ALL accountable for our actions to God. (Romans 3:19).

God has placed Michael in a position of authority over a very significant company within Christian publishing. And as such, I am sure he does not take his position lightly. Regardless if TN is a for-profit business, I believe he looks at each dollar as something to be a steward of, knowing that his decisions have Kingdom impact.

As a store owner, you have the same responsibility that can and will be expressed in different ways.

And as an author, I realize how the decisions both a publisher and a store owner make will influence the audience God has entrusted me.

And I realize within this His sovereignty. In both the seemingly small (which book do I face out?) and in the seemingly big decisions (not attending a convention).

Please excuse the pep-rally talk, but we are ALL in this together. And that relationship requires providing an abundance of trust and grace.

If we can accomplish that, I truly do believe we ALL will have the impact God has for us.

First of all, I don’t think I’m “spinning it.” Anyone who knows me, knows that I am pretty straight-forward. I tell it like I see it. If you disagree, fine. No problem. But I don’t think it advances the conversation, to attack my motives. As you said in your original post, you don’t know me.

Yes, we did voice our concerns to CBA. Many publishers did. However, not enough changed from our perspective to warrant our continued involvement. That’s fine; I’m sure CBA had its reasons. But we have to account for what we do, not what it does. We decided there are better ways to use our time and money. It’s that simple.

As I explained previously, we are calling on the top 600 accounts face-to-face, four times a year. We call on the next 600 accounts by phone 10–12 times a year. This accounts for 98% of our revenue in this channel. So why do we need to go to ICRS to see accounts we already see on a regular basis?

Perhaps you could argue that we should go so that we can service the 2% we don’t see. Is that good stewardship? I don’t think so. The fact is that very few of these accounts can even afford to come to ICRS. The show is not only expensive for suppliers, it is very expensive for retailers, especially the smaller ones. We found that with a handful of exceptions, we were seeing retailers at ICRS that we were already seeing on a regular basis.

In your original post, you suggested that our decision “seems awfully elitist, exclusionary, even selfish.” Again, I disagree. Every manager must assess how he allocates resources. For example, on a personal level, I give my family more time than my friends. I give my friends more time than I give acquaintances. And, I give acquaintances more time than I give strangers.

It that “elitist, exclusionary, or selfish”? I don’t think so. It’s simply the recognition that my time is a finite resource, and I can’t allocate it equally and be a good steward. I must determine my priorities and then invest accordingly.

But don’t you do the exact same thing yourself? In your store, do you give the exact same shelf space to every product category—bibles, books, music, and gifts? Do you give the same shelf space or merchandising focus to Max Lucado that you give to a first-time author? Do you give the exact same space to every publisher? Do you spend the exact same time with every sales rep? If you don’t, is that “elitist, exclusionary, or selfish”?

Since you want to frame this in a spiritual context, let’s talk about Jesus. He had three years and more to do than he could possibly get done. But instead of spending the bulk of his time with the multitudes, he set his priorities. He focused first on his three closest disciples (i.e., Peter, James, and John), then the other nine disciples, then the seventy, then—and only then—on the multitudes. Did this make him “elitist, exclusionary, or selfish”?

The same could be said of the Apostle Paul who told Timothy “the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2). Focusing on everyone in the exact same way is a strategy for failure. It’s true for me. And it’s true for you.

With regard to Sam’s Club pricing, we cannot dictate pricing. It’s illegal. Moreover, we cannot control whether or not they price something as a “loss leader” in order to drive traffic, which clearly the clubs sometimes want to do. Even when they are not doing this, they operate on razor-thin margins. But just to be clear, we do not give them an unfair advantage. The discounts they buy at are available to any account that wants to buy in that volume.

Also, for the sake of clarification, Christian retail is VERY important to us. It is still our single largest sales channel. In fact, it is twice as big as the next largest channel. We understand that and continue to allocate our resources accordingly. We have over 40 dedicated people servicing this channel. That is almost four times as much as any other channel.

The Christian Retail Channel is and will continue to be an important priority. However, since our resources are finite, we must allocate them disproportionately to be successful in our mission. You may disagree with how we are running our business or with our decision regarding trade shows. Again, that’s fine. But in the end, after much internal and external dialog, we believe we have chosen the right strategy.

Time will tell.

Thanks,

Mike

Whew! I must say I was relieved to read your response to my posting. I had feared that in addition to segregating itself from small independent Christian bookstores, Thomas Nelson was also abandoning church bookstores. Thank goodness Thomas Nelson sees the wisdom of attending the Gathering of Church Bookstores. Okay. Enough with the sarcasm.
It has been suggested that my tirade was that of a frustrated retailer quick to criticize. But from where I sit, Christian retailers have been to slow to criticize when it is justified. Let me give an example of where my wife and I did not speak out when we should have. Last year we attended ICRS and were excited to learn of the release of Max Lucado’s new book 3:16. After we read the prerelease copy we both thought this is a book we will feature and strongly recommend in our store. We often have customers ask for recommendations for books on a particular topic. One such inquiry is whether we could recommend a book to give to a friend or relative that is searching and maybe ready to make a decision for Christ. We immediately recognized that 3:16 would be a great recommendation. In fact I have on several occasions done just that. Then my wife goes to Sam’s Club to buy supplies for our Friday night coffeehouse and sees 3:16 for a price well below what we can purchase it for. Does that lead to frustration? Sure. But it goes deeper than that. Based on a secular standard; dollars, units sold, market share, best seller listings are valid criteria for Thomas Nelson to consider as to how to distribute this book. But is a secular standard the only standard that matters? I submit that, like a pebble in a pond, the decision to allow a book to be sold in a warehouse chain in the same year it is published for a heavily discounted price has harmful consequences to the distribution of Christian resources. First, the questions I identified above that lead to a recommendation for purchase simply do not happen in a secular warehouse store. Second, a warehouse store does not carry the depth or breadth of Christian resources that could truly meet the needs of saints and seekers. (I recently had a guest in our store come in looking for a specific best selling inspirational book that he intended to give to his wife who was dealing with issues of depression. I suggested that instead he consider Beth Moore’s Get Out of That Pit. He sat down and reviewed the book and agreed it was exactly what he was looking for.) Finally, by allowing bargain basement pricing of a new release customers who shop in Sam’s Club and an independent Christian bookstore come to see the resources in the Christian bookstore as overpriced, even when we are heavily discounting the book off the retail price to be competitive. We have a gift supplier who distributes in the secular and sacred markets and insists that their products are not to be discounted in order to maintain their brand. The key is that they price the product for all outlets at a fair price. I recognize that books and gifts are two different creatures, but aren’t Christian books of infinitely greater value than what can be found on a pallet at Sam’s Club?

The reason I felt compelled to write my first posting is that I objected to being marketed as to why a decision to not participate at all, in an industry wide event, was good for the industry. I do not begrudge Thomas Nelson the right to make decisions that are in its best interest. But I do object to being spun. Perhaps Thomas Nelson’s decision will lead CBA to do some introspection that will benefit the industry? Perhaps Thomas Nelson has voiced concerns in years past about problems with the trade show that went unheard? Perhaps Thomas Nelson thinks the future of selling of Christian books is not in the retailers who attend ICRS? Why not say that?

I’ve had a day to mull this over and while I have some of the same sentiments as Colleen and Ted, I also see what Nelson is trying to achieve.

We live in a world where companies and people are less and less willing to change and take risks, break “out of the box.” It’s good to see Thomas Nelson is a pioneering company… still.

I’m excited about the prospects of the Book Expo.

I pray God will continue to give you and your team wisdom to lead Thomas Nelson and the publishing industry.

Rachel