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Regional Meetings Score High With Parable Stores

Retailers Say They Learn from Each Other in Smaller Settings

SAN LUIS OBISPO, CA–-More than 300 retailers, managers and frontline staff representing 122 stores participated in a series of interactive regional meetings were sponsored by The Parable Group throughout the month of January. For the first time, the regional events were held in conjunction with ECPA Trade Shows, offering storeowners and their staff the convenience of attending both events. In addition, a regional meeting was held in Indianapolis just prior to the start of CBA Expo. These meetings were planned to inform retailers of new Parable promotions and programs as well as integrate training on existing Parable services.

“We held the meetings both to introduce the retailers to some new programs and to get feedback on some programs that we already have,” explained Kay Cementina, Parable’s manager of planning and development. “By holding meetings around the country, more frontline staffers were able to attend. The response at the end of the meetings was very positive, with most of the participants saying they prefer the smaller regional meetings.”

“The regional meetings are very intimate. You can ask questions, and you just feel more comfortable in a smaller group like that,” said Jim Whitaker, who with his wife owns New Life Christian Store in Lynchburg, Virginia. The couple attended the regional event in Greensboro, North Carolina. Like the Whitakers, Tim Gerhls and his wife—who drove from Brainerd, Minnesota, to the regional meeting in Orlando, Florida—found that the opportunity to interact with other storeowners proved to be invaluable. “The best input on how to run your store comes from other stores,” Gerhls said. “They have the same problems and challenges, and they have the best ideas.”

In addition to offering fellowship with other retailers, the regional meetings also provided an opportunity for store personnel to interact directly with Parable’s leadership team. Attending all seven regional meetings were Parable founder and president Steve Potratz; Tim Blair, chief operating officer; Wayne Hastings, vice president of merchandising and retail development; Melissa Lundie, IMS manager; and Kay Cementina, manager of planning and development.

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“Some people don’t know the leaders very well, and a meeting like this lets you get up close and more personal with the leadership,” said Mark Swenson, who with his wife owns Sonshine Christian Store in Mission Viejo, California. Because the regional meeting was held in the town of Ontario, less than an hour away, the Swensons were able to include their general manager and operations manager in the event. “It was just outstanding. You walk away feeling that you’ve learned so much,” Swenson added.

For Jodi Stevens, manager of Living Words in North Ridgeville, Ohio, the regional meeting, as well as the overall support from Parable, offered the kind of “training and stretching” that the store staff could not find anywhere else. “It’s extremely helpful in keeping us on track and keeping us on the cutting edge,” said Stevens, whose parents own Living Words. “It takes us out of our natural environment, makes us look at what we do from a different perspective, and helps us apply new techniques to our store.” Stevens attended the Indianapolis meeting.

At each venue, the day-long meeting included a presentation by the Parable leadership team that offered a “state of the Parable Member Stores” report, which not only offered such information as sales figures but also emphasized the spiritual impact those sales represent. Vendor-sponsored meals, followed by a presentation related to merchandising the vendor’s product line, were also featured at each site.

The Indianapolis event attracted the largest group, with 100 participants representing 35 stores. Average attendance at the remaining six sites was between 35-40 participants representing 13 stores. In addition to Greensboro, Orlando, and Ontario, regional meetings were held in Arlington, Texas; Hershey, Pennsylvania; and St. Charles, Illinois.

Already, Tim Gehrls has seen positive results from the meeting-generated ideas he and his wife have implemented in their store. “It was the best meeting we’ve ever been to,” Gehrls said. “We’ve been in the industry for 31 years, and sometimes you need an extra boost. We keep thinking, ‘Wow! We could use more of this—this could keep us going another 31 years!’”

Parable is a California-based marketing and retail services company that provides marketing materials for more than 1,000 Christian retail outlets located in the U.S. and Canada representing over $400,000,000 in annual sales of Christian products to consumers. Parable Interactive provides the infrastructure and technology to more than 250 retailing and ministry websites. The Parable Group serves a select group of 275 member stores.

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March 19, 2002