Retail giant Family Christian to close

Family Christian Stores were unable to bounce back from bankruptcy two years ago.

The self-proclaimed “world’s largest retailer of Christian-themed merchandise” announced this week that it will close all of its 240 stores due to declining sales, Christianity Today reported.

“Family’s millions of customers now have even fewer options for finding these wonderful, life-giving products,” Tyndale House Publishers chairman and CEO Mark Taylor said. “The entire Christian community — indeed the entire nation — will be poorer as a result of this pending closure.”

Nielsen Music’s 2016 year-end report revealed that 35 percent of Christian/Gospel music sales in 2016 were physical albums. Traditionally, nearly 50 percent of Christian/Gospel physical albums were sold at Family Christian, Syntax Creative CEO Tim Trudeau, a vendor for Family Christian, told Rapzilla.com.

Only a small percentage of Christian hip-hop artists were recently physically distributed at Family Christian, but record labels which were — Reach Records, Capitol CMG Label Group and Word Entertainment — could be affected by this news.

The full announcement from Family Christian is below.


February 24, 2017

Dear Family Christian Guests,

The cornerstone of the Family Christian organization is a commitment to serve God — whether that is through our retail stores, or any one of our ministry initiatives. I am very grateful for each and every one of you who have shopped our stores, and believed in our mission for so very long.

As with any worthwhile endeavor, there have been challenges and setbacks, as well as remarkable acts of service and self-sacrifice. The retail landscape is changing, however, and despite improvements in our product assortment and our store experience, we have not been able to generate the sales necessary to sustain our business. We have fought hard because we deeply believe in our mission to help people find, grow, share and celebrate their faith in Jesus Christ.

We have had two very difficult years, and after prayerfully looking at all possible options, and trusting God’s plan for our organization, we have made the difficult decision to close our stores. Family Christian will begin the closing process soon.

As we end this chapter, we would like to thank you for walking along with us. Together, we have truly made an impact on the Kingdom by caring for more than 14 million people, here and abroad, in some of the world’s darkest places. We are deeply indebted to you.

Thank you for letting Family Christian be a part of your faith journey. Today and always, it has been privilege to serve.

David Daniels
David Daniels
David Daniels is a columnist at Rapzilla.com and the managing editor of LegacyDisciple.org. He has been published at Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, CCM Magazine, Bleacher Report, The Washington Times and HipHopDX.
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