wfn.org | United Methodist Publishing House pursues 'big ideas'

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March 28, 2000 News media contact: Tim Tanton·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-71B{171}

INDIANAPOLIS (UMNS) - Hey, what's the big idea? The United Methodist
Publishing House wants to know.

The Publishing House is challenging its staff to come up with "big ideas"
for products and services, as part of the organization's emphasis on being
innovative.

"Any unit, any two people from anywhere in the House, can come forth with
big ideas," said Neil Alexander, president and publisher, during a March
24-25 board of directors meeting. The ideas could include breakthroughs in
products, enhancements, ways of serving customers. A "big idea" must produce
at least $500,000 in sales at the end of its first 18 months. Incentives
will be provided to employees of the Nashville, Tenn.,-based agency.

However, the Publishing House is brimming with ideas already. Alexander and
other staff executives described how the organization is growing its
business in traditional and nontraditional ways by increasing its presence
on the Internet, planning more retail stores, targeting specific market
segments and reaching out to new customers, such as Catholic buyers. 

The focus on innovation was one of several key points that Alexander made in
his report to the board, reviewing the Publishing House's accomplishments
during the past four years and looking to the future. The Indianapolis
meeting was the full board's last for the 1997-2000 quadrennium.

The Publishing House is ahead of other denominational publishers in terms of
using the Internet, Alexander said later in an interview with United
Methodist News Service. The Internet represents a new method of delivering
products and a new way of creating them, he said.

"We now have a robust Cokesbury store on the Internet," he noted. Thousands
of items are available, along with descriptions and the means for customers
to survey material 24 hours a day.

Next, the Publishing House will find ways to help people match the resources
with their ministry needs, Alexander said. He envisions customers being able
to ask questions and get expert help online, and the agency providing more
product descriptions and ways of sorting information.

The Publishing House's e-commerce site at Cokesbury.com has had 66,000 hits
since it was launched Aug. 1, said Jerry Heare, chairman of the board's
sales and service committee. The site is expected to generate sales of $1
million by July 31, the end of its first full year of operation.

The agency has put $500,000 into developing its e-commerce site, and it will
invest $500,000 to $1 million more in the next two years, Alexander said.
That will include a $250,000 investment in a new e-commerce site for
seminaries, which will be introduced in May, he said.

The Publishing House's online products include the "I Preach" and "I Teach"
libraries of resources, available only through online subscriptions. That is
a new way of offering products, Alexander said. "That's just the beginning
of that kind of product that will be available."

Another resource is the ileadyouth.com site, which offers a collection of
activities, lessons, retreats and so on that youth leaders can use to create
their own teaching resources, he said. That is a new kind of product that
can be customized for a congregation's specific needs.

Customization is one way in which the Publishing House is trying to serve
the wide variety of customer needs - needs that are related to a
congregation's size, region, ethnic and language makeup, and numerous other
characteristics. Alexander emphasized the need for understanding those
differences, and staff executives described ways in which the Publishing
House is listening to its customers and doing research on needs and trends.

Every unit of the Publishing House will be developing an in-depth, yearlong
relationship with at least one congregation, Alexander said. He also plans
to convene a new advisory group, consisting only of people under 30, to look
at the appeal of the Publishing House's services and products to young
people.

A Publishing House survey of 3,000 United Methodist and Presbyterian
congregations underscored, among other things, the importance of teachers to
the success of Sunday school classes and to curriculum purchases at every
age level. Few teachers receive any training, however, and the Publishing
House must address that need, according to Harriett Olson, senior vice
president of product development. Motivating, encouraging and training
teachers may be the most significant way in which the Publishing House
undergirds the church's ministry, she said.

In addition to sharpening its focus on current customers, the Publishing
House is planning on marketing products to Catholic buyers, Alexander told
the board. "We intend to expand our service to the Catholic market with
sales of at least $500,000 in fiscal (2001)." The agency already has
products that appeal to Catholics but it has neglected to focus on that
market, he said.

The Publishing House is already a major supplier to other denominations,
such as the Presbyterian Church. The United Methodist Church and the
Southern Baptist Convention are the only two denominations with national
networks of retail stores, Alexander said.

The Publishing House is continuing to remodel its Cokesbury stores, an
effort begun in 1998, Alexander said. It is planning on relocating some
stores and opening new ones in viable markets - including retail outlets in
local churches, he said.

So far, 16 stores have been remodeled and had fixtures upgraded in the last
two years, said Donald Sherrod, vice president of sales. Another 22 stores
have undergone more minor renovations, such as new carpeting and lighting.
Eventually, all 45 Cokesbury stores will have had improvements, Sherrod
said. That figure doesn't include an additional 25 seminary stores.

In May, the Publishing House will tie in with Spring Arbor Distributors
Inc., which describes itself as the nation's leading distributor of
Christian books and related products. The tie-in will give Cokesbury.com
customers access to another 60,000 religious titles stocked by Spring Arbor.

The Publishing House has seen changes on almost every front during the past
four years. It has introduced the New Interpreter's Bible, Disciple 3,
Christian Believer, BibleZone for kids, hundreds of books and products, plus
Web site offerings. It has created market business units and sales business
units to focus more effectively on customer segments. Its information
systems have undergone a major conversion, in part to prepare for the
millennium change. Key changes also have occurred in executive leadership.
And in the area of human resources, a pay-for-performance plan and an
employee emergency fund have been launched.

For the six months ended Jan. 31, 2000, the Publishing House had net revenue
of $5.3 million, down 30.1 percent from $7.6 million from the same period
the year before. Net revenue is the agency's bottom-line figure. The
decrease resulted from unrealized investment revenue related to changes in
the financial markets, said Chief Financial Officer Larry Wallace. That
means it was all on paper. Total sales were $57.6 million, up 4.5 percent
from $55.1 million.

For the next fiscal year, which begins Aug. 1, the agency is asking its
market business units and sales business units to ensure 6 to 8 percent
sales growth for the organization, Alexander said.

"The Publishing House is in good financial shape," said Don Tanselle,
finance committee chairman. Sales are expected to be on budget by fiscal
year end, he said.

In other business, the board:
·	Heard presentations on and sang songs from two hymnals in the works
-- a Korean-English book and The Faith We Sing, a supplement to the United
Methodist Hymnal.
·	Heard an update on the Destination: Transformation Sunday school
curriculum campaign. (See UMNS story #123.)
·	Praised Alexander and the Publishing House staff for their work
during the last quadrennium. The board members also were honored for their
contributions at a dinner.
·	Approved a resolution of appreciation for the late Rev. Ewing
Wayland, a former editor in the church and retired top executive of the
United Methodist General Council on Finance and Administration. He died Dec.
24. The resolution will be sent to his family. 
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