Thomas Nelson Sees 149-Percent Increase in Sales to General-Market Bookstores
Religious publisher Thomas Nelson Inc. announced that during the quarter ending June 30, the company saw significant growth in its sales to general-market bookstores, which it defines as those, whether chains or independents, that sell more than explicitly Christian products. The net revenue of these general-market bookstore accounts increased 149 percent over the same period last year.
"With all the negative economic news, it is extremely encouraging to see this kind of momentum," says Sally Hofmann, senior vice president of general market sales. "We are finding that in tough times, readers are predominantly looking for books that do two things: They are looking for nonfiction that helps answer uncertainty and provides comfort; and for fiction that provides a sense of escapism."
According to the company, this growth was driven by the success of a handful of recent releases, including Andy Andrew's "The Noticer," which has been on the New York Times best-seller list for the last 11 weeks, and Fox News correspondent Lis Wiehl's debut novel "Face of Betrayal." Also, the company stated in a press release, perennial New York Times best-sellers such as Ron Hall and Denver Moore's memoir "Same Kind of Different as Me" and Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover" continued to generate strong sales.
"This is only the beginning. I anticipate that we will continue to see substantial growth in the general market for the remainder of the year," says Hofmann.