Subscribe to RSSSee you at ICRS
If you are not familiar with ICRS, it stands for International Christian Retail Show. For those of us who have attended the show for years we still refer to it as “CBA” which it used to me known for. Next week many of us in my firm will be attending this year’s conference in Orlando.
ICRS is known as the king of Christian commerce since all the major producers of music, books and gifts are there to sell to stores for the next year’s inventory.
Retail trends are made at ICRS. Business dreams are made or broken at ICRS. New Christian bands recall their first public appearances at showcases to the crowd.
So while ICRS represents the best of the faith-based economy, it may also represent a worrisome trend. The Christian Booksellers Association sponsors ICRS. As the trade association for all the independent and national Christian bookstores around the world, the association is charged with supporting the health and development of Christian bookstores.
Yet there are many signs that CBA has its work cut out for them. Stores like Target and Wal-Mart never used to carry Christian product – giving the territory to Christian bookstores. That has changed and now the independent stores find a hard time dealing with the convenience and low-pricing of the “big box” stores.
What is best for the Christian consumer? What is best for the Kingdom? Will the free market work against or on behalf of the spreading of the Gospel? Should consumers be loyal to Christian bookstores even if they are less convenient, not online, and more expensive? These are critical issues facing the organization.
The lesson of CBA is a lesson for all in the business of faith. Don’t let the free market pass you by, but stay ahead of the market curve so that your products and services stand up in the transparency of the free market.
Tags: bookstore, CBA, ICRS, New Iron, Orlando, Scott Fehrenbacher