Looking to bring Christian publishing even further into the mainstream, several people with experience in both Christian and secular publishing have launched a full-service Christian distributor.
Larry Carpenter, president of Spring Arbor until he resigned this past summer, has joined with Bill Jayne, until recently president of Rutledge Hill, to form Christian Distribution Services. To provide more heft, CDS has signed up Ron Smith's BookWorld, which, in addition to contributing money, will provide CDS with a sales force.
Among the primary goals of CDS is to place Christian books, music and gifts in the stores of general independents, chains and price clubs. More than 30 BookWorld reps, already accustomed to selling into the trade, hope to accomplish this via their usual contacts. "When I was president of Spring Arbor, the question I got most often was, how do I penetrate the ABA?" Carpenter told PW. "I never really had a good answer. It was always, 'Work with me at Spring Arbor because I have sister company Ingram.' The difference is that there we were a wholesaler and we couldn't sell specific products because there are hundreds of thousands of products. But here we can be more product-specific."
The company will provide sales and marketing as well as shipping. "It's something publishers have been clamoring for, as well as retailers. Now you order a product from one company and then it's shipped by someone else," Carpenter said.
Carpenter will serve as chairman and concentrate on soliciting clients. Jayne will focus on customer sales and will oversee CDS's director of sales, who has yet to be hired.
