STORE NEWS

from “Church” page 15

STORE NEWS

help them achieve their goals as a church and reach more people for Christ.

“Several Lemstone franchisees have operated church stores in four separate markets,” he said. “We’ve had real-world experience that’s helped us understand this market and develop a business model that works for both the church and for Lemstone as a service provider…. We’re very excited about the new opportunities this will open up for us to expand the base and strength of Christian retailing in America.” •

›BFO’s Simmons Moves to Berean

WITHIN A YEAR OF WOOING FORMER Family Christian Stores President-CEO Leslie Dietzman out of semiretirement to head the chain, Berean Christian Stores has hired Bible Factory Outlet President-CEO Bill Simmons as merchandising & marketing VP.

Simmons’ track record in Christian retail includes 10 years at Cedar Springs Christian Stores (Knoxville, TN). During his five years as president of Bible Factory Outlet, the chain expanded from 21 to 71 stores.

Simmons was recognized in the January 2004 Chain Store Age magazine as one of 40 top retail executives under 40 years old. He serves as co-chairman of the Supply Chain Task Force Distribution Committee and is past committee chairman of the Christian Music & Video Retailers track during GMA week, and a past board member of the Gospel Music Assoc.

At press time, there was no information on who would replace Simmons at BFO. •

EVENTS

from “Show” page 10

impact awards

the input of member retailers, are planned for the Denver show. Super Sessions will bring big-name speakers and big topics to the Christian retail channel. The new Idea Exchange event will put new twists on a proven retailer favorite.

The Personality Party will take previous

personality booth activity to one location for the most efficient use of time. Solution centers on the exhibit floor will demonstrate real-life solutions for key areas of retailers’ operations.

Show registration forms were made available at Advance 2005. For more information, call (800) 252-1950 or visit www.christianretailshow.com. •

STORE NEWS

›Parable Franchise Hits Stride

THE PARABLE GROUP’S NEW INITIAtive, Parable Franchise, is quickly gaining momentum. Industry veteran and former CBA board chairman Steve Adams recently was named franchise operations director and a board of directors was selected.

Former Evangel ( Bellevue, WA) owner Adams will oversee Parable Franchise development, working with both conversion and new franchisees. He brings 24 years’ Christian-retail experience to his new position. Adams also owned a med-ical-billing franchise for seven years in the 1970s.

Also supporting the new Steve Adams program is the board of directors: Parable Group members Michael Wall, Jim Kregel, and Gary Woehrmann; ServiceMaster Clean and Furniture Medic

President-COO Mike Isakson; U.S. Trust Co. Managing Director Jeff Grubb; and Brandtrust Senior Consultant and Lead Facilitator Greg Bunch. Parable CEO-founder Steve Potratz will serve as chairman.

Parable Franchise has its first 15 members, representing 25 stores. Franchise members include Son Shine Christian Bookstore (Moorestown, NJ), Kregel Bookstores (Grand Rapids, MI), and Shepherd’s Voice Christian Bookstore (Onalaska, WI).

Parable offers two franchise models, a conversion program for existing Parable members and a turnkey model for new stores. Stores that choose not to convert contin-

ue to benefit from the group’s marketing and database services; however, they lose the right to use the Parable brand. •

CBA Impact awards, presented at the International Christian Retail Show in July, highlight best business practices within the Christian-retail channel.

Impact Awards

The Store of the Year Impact Award includes three sales-volume sizes.

Impact awards also highlight suppliers (now nominated by Retail Advisory Council I and II) who go beyond the norm to help Christian retailers to do business well and serve the industry better. Watch for more information and deadlines coming soon.

Christian Retailing and Strang Communications are sponsoring the fifth-annual Retailers Choice Awards, also announced at the July show. Retailers vote for the products they most enjoyed selling and found most significant. Products released in 2004 may be nominated for $50 each. See www.retailerschoiceawards.com for details.

www.cbaonline.org

March 2005 ‹ CBA marketplace 17