CBA Convention

CBA Convention 2002 Brings Christian Retail Industry to Anaheim

New Technologies to Take Center Stage at Trade Show

Who: up to 12,000 Christian retailers and product suppliers from around the world
What: 53rd Annual CBA Convention
When: July 13-18, with exhibits opening Monday, July 15th-Thursday, July 18th
Where: Anaheim Convention Center

COLORADO SPRINGS, June 25, 2002 – Up to 12,000 delegates representing all segments of the Christian retail industry are expected to attend the 53rd Annual International CBA Convention, July 13-18 at the Anaheim Convention Center. During the international networking and buying event, representatives from all 50 states and over 60 foreign countries will converge for the largest annual gathering of Christian retailers and product suppliers in the world. The show is not open to the general public.

The exhibit floor will officially open Monday, July 15, at 9:00 a.m. when Ernie Martin, chairman of the board for CBA cuts the ribbon at the entrance to the exhibit hall. The exhibits will feature Christian books, music and gifts from 488 different companies in 1520 booth spaces. Throughout the week, attendees will hear from authors such as Franklin Graham, John Maxwell, Chuck Swindoll and Lee Strobel, and recording artists such as Nicole C. Mullen, Crystal Lewis, Sandi Patty, Sixpense None the Richer, Bob Carlisle and Rachel Lampa.

“We’ve placed a strong emphasis on solidly biblical teaching, the music program offers a broad variety of genres, and the education tracks are the strongest we’ve ever had,” said Bill Anderson, president and CEO of CBA. “It is critical for our industry to come together face-to-face in this age of digital communication. No one can put a dollar figure to the value of relationship-building that takes place when our industry meets at the Convention, but it pays huge dividends all year long.”

Tradeshow Week reports that the CBA International Convention is #164 of the 6,000 U.S. tradeshows based on total exhibit-floor space sold (up from #181 in 2000). Buyers are expected to place orders for more than 2,000 stores as well as research new product and marketing trends, glean ideas for merchandising techniques and store promotions, and attend the 32 training and development workshops. Training will be offered on topics such as product selection, merchandising, customer service strategies, and adapting to new technology.

Strong Attendance Expected Despite Trade Show Industry Slow-Down
While most trade shows are currently running 10% - 20% below previous year’s numbers, CBA anticipates a healthy attendance at the West Coast show. “We won’t break attendance records this year, but we do anticipate a strong representation of buying stores,” said Anderson. According to Anderson, both retailers and suppliers are approaching the Convention with a cost-conservative mind-set due to the down-turn in the economy as well as a soft spring for Christian retail. “But we have also heard from stores who are bringing their entire staff because they see the tremendous value in giving their staff the opportunity to develop an industry-wide perspective to what they do,” said Anderson. It has been six years since the CBA Convention has been held on the West Coast, which usually bodes well for international attendance, especially from Asian countries.

CBA’s research shows that 24% of Convention attendees build a family vacation into their CBA international experience. So CBA has made arrangements with Disney for CBA Disney Night which will be Thursday evening, after the convention is over. CBA has also negotiated discount tickets for CBA attendees for the days following the convention which will be available in the lobby of the Anaheim Convention Center beginning on Thursday, July 18th.

Technology Takes Center Stage at Convention
When retailers enter the convention center, they will have the opportunity to pick up their pre-purchased CBA "Equipping the Pioneers of Tomorrow Tech Pack". The Tech Pack will include a Godspeed eBible and a 32 MB What Goes Into the Mind Comes Out in a Life™ media card featuring special convention software. The software includes a map and guide to the exhibit floor, a convention schedule with convention events pre-loaded, and sample digital content from leading CBA book and music suppliers. Godspeed's eBible comes preloaded with powerful mobile software such as The Bible Toolbox™, devotional, and prayer request manager and includes practical applications such as a scheduler, address book, voice recorder and integrated MP3 player.

“The Godspeed eBible will be a handheld illustration of this year’s CBA theme, ‘Equipping the Pioneers of Tomorrow,’” said CBA Member Development and Marketing VP Mark Kuyper. “Not only will CBA members have access to the technology for the convention and an innovative new product to offer to their customers, the Godspeed eBible will feature the logo for CBA’s What Goes Into the Mind Comes Out in a Life™ national image campaign, which will help raise awareness of Christian stores.”

CBA introduces Signature Websites as a CBA Service Provider at the Convention. Signature, a division of Innovative, Inc., will offer these personalized web-sites which will feature premiere daily programs from Focus on the Family, Insight for Living and another 100 leading ministries as well as Christian music radio and e-commerce options. Also included are 100,000 products, daily Christian news, key publisher resources and the What Goes Into the Mind Comes Out in a Life™ brand. Retailers will be able to sign up for a Signature website at the convention at considerable savings for immediate launch.

In the middle of the exhibit floor, attendees will be able to take advantage of the CBA Cyber Café provided by Signature Websites. The Cyber Café will offer ten dynamic stand-up workstations and two laptop connections which will provide internet access via a high-speed connection, giving retailers an opportunity to keep up with e-mails as well as discover how to use on-line tools to build their businesses.

Phase I of the new WhatGoesIntoTheMind.com website will be launched at the Convention. The site will feature stories of lives changed by Christian products and a Christian retail store location finder. Premiere content including Bible search, ministry programs, the CBA Bestseller lists, author sketches and sample book chapters are also included. Phase II, to be launched later in the year includes on-line Bible tools, product reviews, and a core product listing for all product categories.

Convention to Leave Lasting Impact on Southern California
Proceeds from the offering at the Sunday Morning Worship service during the convention will go to the Pasadena Youth Christian Center. The center offers after-school programs, summer day camps, and evening activities to underprivileged children, and is currently in the midst of a $750,000 expansion project. In addition to the funds raised at the Sunday Morning Worship, numerous CBA suppliers have committed to provide books, music, videos and other product to the Center.

International Participation Expected to Be Strong
The coastal location of the convention is expected encourage a record attendance of international attendees. “The international aspect of the CBA Convention is a growing area of sales for those exhibitors who welcome the business,” explained Jim Powell, CBA international director. “For many of the international buyers, this is their one chance to buy for the year. There is no salesman coming to visit them, and so they come with their checkbooks, ready to buy.”

“Markets abroad are interested in what is hot in America,” adds Anderson. “And, coming out of a year when the two top-selling books of the year were Christian books (The Prayer of Jabez and Desecration) there is increased demand for Christian products world-wide.” International delegates have a special exhibit and lounge area, giving them a place to network with others who do business across international lines in the expanded and newly named CBA Marketsquare.

CBA will be welcoming Indonesia as a new CBA chapter at the International Luncheon on Sunday of the convention. “It is amazing, that in this year when we’ve become more aware of the Muslim world than ever before, and of their opposition to the distribution of Christian literature, our newest member chapter is from the country with the largest Muslim population in the world,” said Powell.

Impact X 2 Results in Significant Growth
The CBA-led Impact X 2 campaign, a five-year industry effort to double impact of Christian products, draws to a close at the Convention with final numbers to be reported at the Convention. The average Christian retail store saw compounded sales growth of 44% over the first four years of Impact X 2—13% in the first year, another 10.25% in the second year, an additional 11% in year three, and 4.4% in year four.

"The purpose of the Impact x 2 goal was to challenge our thinking and approach so that we might reach further into the marketplace, and there is no question the Impact x 2 goal has done that in a way that has produced unprecedented growth,” said Anderson. “Impact X 2 changed the way retailers and suppliers viewed the industry’s potential. It unleashed creativity and caused all of us to think bigger. For many retailers, that led to store-wide renovation, relocation and expansion, a more aggressive marketing program, and increased community outreach.”

Impact X 2 vision launched the category committees which brought retailers and suppliers together to strategize and develop initiatives to grow each product area in the stores. The category committees birthed numerous important tools for industry growth including core inventory lists, Bible training on CD, Think Kids First™, the Super Tuesday music program, and much more. In addition, Impact X 2 launched the CBA Retail Leadership Council, a group of key retail leaders who meet together regularly to spend time in prayer as well as address big-picture industry issues such as the gathering of sales data.

Categorized Training Tracks Offer Value to Convention Experience
For the first time, CBA is offering training tracks for specific category buyers, including music, books, children’s, gifts and Bibles. “We have seen that our retailers want to be more efficient with the people they bring to the Convention,” noted Anderson. “The specialized training offered for each category of buyers adds tremendous value to the convention experience and will help our retailers maximize the efficiency of each staff person they bring to the convention.”

Survey Shows Sales of CBA Member Suppliers at $4 Billion
Last year, CBA announced the results of a survey, which showed sales of Christian products by CBA member suppliers through all distribution channels to be just over $4 billion for the year 2000. The survey also revealed that $2.5 billion of the $4 billion total is sold through Christian retail, with $1 billion sold through general retail, and $.5 billion sold direct-to-consumer, and through ministry sales channels. “We are glad to see that with the growing interest in Christian product from mainstream retailers, Christian retail remains the dominant source for Christian products by a wide margin,” said Anderson. “This reinforces our commitment to seek to equip our members to be stronger competitors in an increasingly competitive marketplace.”

In addition, the survey revealed the following breakdown in sales by product categories based on the primary type of products sold by participating suppliers:
Books & Bibles $ 1.77 billion
Music $ 747 million
Gifts $ 822 million
Other* $ 661 million
*includes stationery, church supplies, apparel, curriculum, software, miscellaneous

CBA, the international trade association of Christian product suppliers and retailers, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, serves 2,443 member retail stores and 685 member publishers, record companies and other product suppliers. CBA has chapters in 16 countries worldwide. The Christian resources industry is a $4 billion business annually, up from $1 billion in 1980.