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Wisconsin ABC makes top 100 list for Christian Retailing


Nampa, Idaho (January 5, 2004) -- The Wisconsin Adventist Book Center, based in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, made the list of Top 100 stores for 2003 by Christian Retailing, the industry’s trade journal. It ranked number 82 on the list and was the only Adventist book store to make the Top 100 listing from their 2003 survey.

Christian Retailing surveyed hundreds of Christian retail stores, considering sales figures and store size, as well as other aspects. Not all of the stores in the Christian retail industry choose to participate in this survey. In fact, the Potomac Adventist Book and Health Store, which has sat atop the list since 1993, declined to participate this year, says Larry Leech, editor of Christian Retailing.

Rick Claus, manager of the Wisconsin Adventist Book Center, is excited about making the Top 100 list. “We were happy to be among the Top 100 Christian stores for 2003, and hope this will bring awareness to our Adventist Book Centers across the country. It's nice to know that smaller stores can be recognized, and that Adventist Book Centers are Christian bookstores also,” says Claus.

This year’s Top 100 store survey by Christian Retailing, the first one in three years, shows the viability of the Christian retail industry. “No one needs to tell a Christian retailer that the going has been tough the last few years. Sales have dwindled. Stores have closed. The Christian booksellers market has been hit hard by the nearly two-year-long recession. More than an estimated 200 stores have closed in the last two years alone in an industry with just over 8,000 stores,” reports Leech, “but Christian retailers are still alive and strong, and the industry’s overall annual revenue is growing.”

The Wisconsin Adventist Book Center is owned by Pacific Press Publishing Association (PPPA), along with 19 other Adventist Book Centers throughout North America. “We congratulate the Wisconsin Adventist Book Center on this honor,” says PPPA vice president of marketing, Susan Harvey. “We are proud of all the Adventist Book Centers within our chain of stores, and look forward to continued good progress in the coming year.”


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