Christian Booksellers Association abandons ship after long struggle
GUELPH, ON–The board of Christian Booksellers Association Canada (CBA) has decided to call it quits and let the organization die a natural death due to marketplace challenges.
"As an organization, we were struggling to keep the ship going," says Lando Klassen, CBA Canada board chair and owner of Abbotsford's House of James bookstore. "Many people thought the ship was stuck in the water. The board needed to abandon ship."
Klassen describes the decision to close the Guelph-based CBA Canada office on April 30 as "heart-wrenching." Talk about CBA Canada's future had been going on for a couple of years, but with membership dropping and suppliers buying less booth space at the convention, serious discussion began in January.
"The final discussion began when we started looking at the future and the proposed budget," says Klassen.
CBA Canada ran as a region of CBA USA, until its 1979 incorporation. In a letter to members, Klassen says the industry grew "by leaps and bounds" with the association as "the kind of glue that held us together.
"It was an amazing family of suppliers, retailers, authors, artists and workshop leaders." As CBA Canada neared its fourth decade, its relevance lessened. Stores became larger, ran more efficiently and developed their own training and operating methods-services CBA Canada once offered.
"Many of those in the business upwards of 30 years have really benefited from the work of the CBA," says Marlene Coghlin, executive director for the past 12 years. "Today we're seeing a change in retail in general and the association is rather small in numbers and not as strong as it could be.
"We see the smaller stores suffering due to mass marketing encroachment. The Sam's Clubs, the Wal-Marts and even the general market has taken really keen interest in some of our bestsellers.
"It started with The Prayer of Jabez and really started to go with the Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins series."
Another marketplace challenge, says Coghlin, is the use of technology.
"Christian bookstores need to become technologically innovative, reaching beyond themselves through e-communication, e-marketing and e-commerce." says Coghlin. But the issues of needed skill sets, staff and technological resources make this transition a "really difficult situation."
Despite CBA Canada's end, retailers still see a need for some of its services, but in a different form.
"We do find, regionally, pockets get together to strengthen and enhance one another," says Coghlin.
Margo Smith, managing director of Hull's Family Bookstore in Winnipeg says she's part of a loosely based network of area stores.
Klassen says a few local stores have begun discussing a mentoring system for smaller stores, which would include on-the-job and classroom training.
The end of CBA Canada will have little affect on the day-to-day operation of Christian retailers.
"I say, with mixed feelings that it's not going to affect us," says Smith. "I wish I could say it has an effect."
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