Christian Retail Stores Shelve Old Ideas
At Skia, a new Christian bookstore in Bentonville, Ark., there are comfortable chairs, racks of apparel, a coffee and smoothie bar, and a full corner of the store dedicated to building, of all things, skateboards.
“It takes a little while to put together a skateboard, maybe 15 minutes or so,” said Skia’s co-owner, Bill Beyer. “It gives us an opportunity to talk with the kids and really develop relationships with the kids while we’re doing that.”
Meeting customers where they are has become the mantra of the Christian retail industry as its stores face stiff competition from big-box chains and online retailers. With more stores closing than opening each year, industry layoffs and a key publisher staying away from this week’s annual International Christian Retail Show in Orlando, retailers and publishers say innovation is key to thriving.
In a survival-of-the-fittest atmosphere, stores, publishers and other Christian companies are cutting back and offering new products to appeal to shoppers.
“Christian stores used to be destination stores because . . . they had the dominant selection of product in the marketplace,” said Bill Anderson, president and chief executive of CBA (formerly the Christian Booksellers Association), which hosts the annual show.
