Low Numbers at Christian Retail Show
By Jana Riess -- Publishers Weekly, 7/21/2008 7:16:00 AM
After a lackluster International Christian Retail Show one year ago in Atlanta, the CBA was clearly hoping that a return to family-friendly Orlando in 2008 would mean a jump in flagging show attendance. The organizers had good reason for optimism: when the meeting was held in Orlando back in 1999, a record-breaking 14,694 people came. However, the Disney magic did not materialize at last week’s trade show which ended July 17, with total attendance of 7,448—the lowest numbers since the 1980s, and well off last year’s already limp showing of 9,266. Professional attendance (which is mostly retailers, plus some industry professionals) was down to 2,386, a 17% drop from last year and about half as much as in New Orleans eight years ago.
“When shows die, they die quickly,” said one insider, voicing the concerns of many publishers who said that the show must radically reinvent itself or it will disappear. Even on the first day—traditionally a bustling time with booth signings, giveaways, and floor events—traffic was light and the lines for many bestselling authors were only about 25 people deep. “Frankly, the traffic is extremely low,” said Michael Thomson, sales director at Eerdmans. “We have done some good orders, but they’re mostly orders we would have done anyhow.”
Order-writing was rare, as has increasingly been the case at ICRS. As Kim Shiner, marketing director for Judson, said, “we’ve grown to realize this show isn’t about selling anymore. We’ve had to mentally prepare not to make a profit. For the visibility and networking, it’s just something we’ve got to do.” Still, Judson is considering a cutback from two booth spaces to one next year.
A number of publishers have already scaled back their booths, but the elephant in the room was the several publishers who decided not to come at all this year. Exhibitor numbers declined to 353 (including music and gifts), down from 410 two years ago. Thomas Nelson, the largest Christian publishing house, was conspicuously absent, but some other houses also decided to give the show a skip. “Steeple Hill and Harlequin have always been committed to engaging readers, authors and agents, and our booths at ICRS over the years reflected that,” said Joan Marlow Golan, executive editor for Harlequin’s Steeple Hill imprint said that while the company has supported ICRS in the past,. “recent low attendance at the event has made it difficult for us to justify the resources it takes to host a booth there.” Instead, Harlequin spotlighted its Steeple Hill and Love Inspired lines at its BEA booth in June and sent only editors to ICRS.
Several other publishers told PW that they are thinking seriously about following suit. One complained, “You could bowl in these aisles. We’re putting on the show for each other instead of for our customers.” Although she noted that a shortened show might get her colleagues to change their minds, “we don’t think we’ll be back next year.”
The one bright spot was the brisk business being conducted in the international rights area, where 739 attendees from 63 countries engaged in buying and selling. “For everyone else, this trade show is redundant. For international customers, it’s essential,” said Dwight Baker, president of Baker Publishing Group.
Still, it is anyone’s guess whether that international business will continue or be superseded by the Christian Book Expo, a unique direct-to-consumer Christian show planned for Dallas in March 2009. “We’re actively working on an international rights area as a component of the show,” said Mark Kuyper, president of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, which is planning the event. Kuyper expects at least 10,000 total attendees, and more likely between 15,000 and 20,000. It remains to be seen whether international customers will want to make the long trip to the U.S. twice in the space of four months to attend both CBE and ICRS, which is planned for Denver in July.
What’s especially interesting about the precipitous decline at ICRS is that it comes at a time when Christian publishing continues to be strong and some houses, like Baker, have enjoyed record-breaking years. But even as Christian publishing grows and diversifies, Christian retail stores continue to bleed: CBA membership has now fallen to 1,731 retail stores. CBA President Bill Anderson was characteristically upbeat despite the abysmal turnout at ICRS, pointing to the bleak economy, budget-busting gas prices and sky-high airfares as reasons for the dip. He also noted that “quite frankly, some publishers need to reassess” their goals for the show, which are primarily “exposure and networking. This show is not just transactional. It’s transformational.”
