Statistics for success of Christian bookshops.

Stephentlig

I was wondering if anyone here could give me the government statistics on the success of Christian bookshops in Ireland?

I am considering starting a Christian Bookshop akin to Veritas, and I need to do some research on it before I enter into such a business to see if it will be financially worth my while.

Pax Christi
Stephen

keano_afc

Stephentlig wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone here could give me the government statistics on the success of Christian bookshops in Ireland?

I am considering starting a Christian Bookshop akin to Veritas, and I need to do some research on it before I enter into such a business to see if it will be financially worth my while.

Pax Christi
Stephen

Wrong motives

homer911

You wont find any government statistics. Most Christian bookshops are run by charitable organisations with volunteer help and barely break even, even when they own the property they operate in - its best to think of a Christian Bookshop as a Christian Ministry.

Look at the history of Wesley Owen in the UK and STL Distribution...

Christian Bookshops in NI tend to do slightly better for obvious reasons

non-Christian Bookshops are having a bad time of it currently - Borders are gone, Hughes & Hughes are gone, Easons not doing much better - what makes you think a Christian Bookshop would survive/prosper

PDN

homer911 wrote: »

You wont find any government statistics. Most Christian bookshops are run by charitable organisations with volunteer help and barely break even, even when they own the property they operate in - its best to think of a Christian Bookshop as a Christian Ministry.

Look at the history of Wesley Owen in the UK and STL Distribution...

Christian Bookshops in NI tend to do slightly better for obvious reasons

non-Christian Bookshops are having a bad time of it currently - Borders are gone, Hughes & Hughes are gone, Easons not doing much better - what makes you think a Christian Bookshop would survive/prosper

Agreed, these are tough times for bookshops in general, what with the recession, e-readers, and the power and presence of Amazon. I have some experience in both publishing and selling Christian books by mail order, at events, and in shops.

Many Christian bookshops see themselves more as an outreach ministry rather than a commercial business. They add on little cafe areas so they can chat with people about Jesus. They often rely on volunteer workers and financial subsidies from a church or parent organisation.

Also, those few Christian bookshops that are financially self-supporting do so for two reasons - they attract more people through the doors! This requires two things:
a) You have to have a sufficiently large catchment area of potential customers (the kind who buy Christian books). Unless you live in the Bible Belt of Alabama, or are linked to a megachurch, then this means your shop needs to be in a large city. Realistically, in Ireland, that means Belfast, Dublin or Cork.
b) You have to appeal to a wide cross-section of people. This means that bookshops that are exclusively Calvinistic, Catholic, Protestant etc. are unlikely to survive without being bailed out by their denominations.

Zombrex

Stephentlig wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone here could give me the government statistics on the success of Christian bookshops in Ireland?

I am considering starting a Christian Bookshop akin to Veritas, and I need to do some research on it before I enter into such a business to see if it will be financially worth my while.

Pax Christi
Stephen

The thing that kills shops like bookshops in this day and age is rent. The rent system for retailers in Ireland at the moment is dire.

http://www.finfacts.ie/irishfinancenews/article_1019092.shtml

Without a charity behind you I think you would find it very difficult to sustain your bookshop through the first year (when retailers traditionally don't make any profit).

PDN's idea of selling through the internet is probably a much more realistic goal in this economic climate, particularly for a specialist retailer

Selling through the internet your costs can be kept to a minimum, the only thing you have to worry about is excess stock you can't shift, but if you organize it correctly that shouldn't be much of an issue.

Fanny Cradock

You might find this thread of particular interest. I worked in one of the largest bookshops in Dublin maybe 10 years ago, and they, like their other major competitors, were struggling. Times - as it does - have moved on since then, and our country is still in the financial toilet and internet sales have grown and are eating into the bricks and mortar businesses (religious and non-religious).

Like WN, I would think that the "e-business model" stands the best chance of success. In theory it is simple: get a good website - one that looks pretty and is functional (this will cost you!) - and start boning up on internet marketing.

Although you potentially have a ready made customer base, you must ask look at who they are and what are their buying habits. Are your target customers computer literate? Do they make on-line purchases? Do they make any purchases related to RCism? The answers to these questions and others might force you into expanding your customer base (as PDN suggested) to accommodate other denominations - some of which are very likely to have younger congregations. These people, I suggest, may be more computer literate, have more access to cash and are possibly better read.

homer911

While internet sales are ideally the way to go, the internet is littered with sales sites that failed to achieve market dominance and fell by the wayside (no pun intended)

The dominant players got to be dominant players because they could offer something different - either cheaper prices, or some IP that made them stand out. Even Christians, given the choice of buying the book from a charity site for x and a commercial site for x-10%, will almost always pick the cheaper option.

FYI, Crown Books (.co.uk) is the internet arm of STL Distribution. Scripture Union (Footprints) is the only associated bricks and mortar shop in the Republic

(Crown Books has IP on the book synopsis from most of the major Christian Publishers)

PDN

homer911 wrote: »

FYI, Crown Books (.co.uk) is the internet arm of STL Distribution. Scripture Union (Footprints) is the only associated bricks and mortar shop in the Republic

Sorry, what do you mean by 'associated'. With STL?

Stephentlig

Thanks everyone for your replies, the internet seems the way to go as for a startup, but as Homer pointed out, it might also be just as dangerous of a move as the former.

If I were to open up a Christian bookshop, for it to do well the presupposition would be that it certainly must be an improvement on others and have a good location and be marketed to the right people.

The shop is gonna be 100% Catholic, however this would not preclude Christians from other denominations coming in, as they would be able to buy t-shirts-music cds and dvds that would contain a common belief for all.

Plus I would get Christian bands to come along and search for the many mystics to come and talk about their books, hold poetry nights and music nights for the adolescent etc etc

You've certainly given me food for thought, as to whether or not its feasible to enter into such a business and I will have to do more research.

Pax Christi
Stephen<3

Zombrex

By the sounds of it you are trying to create a Christian center that sells books, rather than a Christian bookshop, sort of like what the IFI does with films (they are more than a cinema, they have a bookshop, a cafe, a place for workshops etc)

If that is the case you it might be helpful to look into what type of funding or grants are available from the government. You mention music, it maybe possible to get Arts Council or county council funding if you present your idea to them as something that promotes culture and art.

Stephentlig

Wicknight wrote: »

By the sounds of it you are trying to create a Christian center that sells books, rather than a Christian bookshop, sort of like what the IFI does with films (they are more than a cinema, they have a bookshop, a cafe, a place for workshops etc)

If that is the case you it might be helpful to look into what type of funding or grants are available from the government. You mention music, it maybe possible to get Arts Council or county council funding if you present your idea to them as something that promotes culture and art.

Thank you Wicknight, that is exactly what it is I'm trying to do, sorry for not being so detailed in the area of describing the bookshop.

I'll look into the grant thing a.s.a.p

Pax Christi
Stephen

homer911

PDN wrote: »

Sorry, what do you mean by 'associated'. With STL?

If you register an account with them you are asked to select your nearest bricks and mortar bookshop - there is only one in ROI. As they provide a shopfront for all their associated bookshops (http://www.crownbooks.co.uk/CrownBooksSite/cm/stores.htm), I'd say they are facilitating internet sales and providing some sort of commission back to the bookshops, net of what ever they charge for providing the service/storefront. You may find that the bookshops promote the site in their bricks and mortar locations in a reciprocal manner