Trade Shows Cater to Retailers East and West

by Amy Tracy, Religion BookLine -- Publishers Weekly, 1/24/2007

The Munce Group, a marketing organization that serves independent Christian retailers, hosted the CPE (Christian Product Expo) Regionals East and West in Hershey, Penn., January 7-10, and in Riverside, Calif., January 14-17.

"From our assessment, both CPE Regionals East and CPE Regionals West were a success," said Brad Poel, Munce Group media and events manager. "There was good attendance from traditional independent Christian retailers as well as church bookstores."

While statistics were not yet available, Poel mentioned that retailer attendance rose from the 2006 ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishing Association) shows, which Munce took over after ECPA announced it was bowing out of regionals (Religion BookLine, Feb. 8, 2006). Exhibitors also exceeded recent years—67 exhibitors were present at CPE Regionals East (a 60% rise from last year), and 70 exhibitors attended CPE Regionals West (up 46% from last year). Booth space for both shows was sold out.

"When ECPA decided to move away from regional trade shows we saw an opportunity to step in and serve independents in this format," said Poel. "There is still a need for us to gather face-to-face to do business and interact with suppliers and fellow-retailers."He also noted that while ECPA shows focused almost entirely on books and Bibles, "We offer retailers a broad selection of exhibitors providing books, music and gifts."

He added, "Order volume was up dramatically compared to last year's ECPA shows thanks to higher reimbursement requirements." (Buyers who achieve a certain order volume have their travel expenses—including food, lodging and transportation—reimbursed.) "We make it clear that order writing is a priority, and we motivate retailers to participate to this end. We want our shows to be financially worthwhile for participating exhibitors."

In addition to a multitude of exhibitors, the CPE Regionals offered retailer training, roundtable discussions, author forums and evening showcases.

The Munce Group was founded in October 1991 and serves over 600 member and affiliated stores in 49 states and Canada. The CPE Regionals will be held next year in Hershey, January 6-9; Riverside, January 15-18; and Atlanta, Ga., in January on dates not yet determined. Information on this year's shows can be found at cperegionals.com.