LARGO, Fla.—During these difficult days, CPE Fall 2020 was a time for the Christian retail industry to come together and build each other up.
Like CPE Winter 2020, CPE Fall 2020 (August 23-25) was held at the Chase Center in Wilmington, DE. However, this show looked a little different with face masks, provided by Kerusso for all attendees, and social distancing at all the events and on the show floor. Since some vendors were unable to attend due to company travel bans, they utilized Zoom to give product presentations and take orders at the show.
Each morning, retailers enjoyed a time of spiritual refreshment with devotionals via a pre-recorded video from Paula Faris (Baker Publishing Group) and a live presentation of the new Epic Bible from Tyndale House Publishers.
The show officially kicked off on Sunday, August 23, with live praise and worship from Cheri Keaggy, who reminded attendees that God’s love endures forever, along with a message on prayer from Advanced Writers and Speakers Association (AWSA) founder Linda Evans Shepherd.
On Sunday afternoon, retailers enjoyed an in-person social media training with industry experts and a meet-and-greet Personality Party with 19 authors. One generous author, Sandra Boyd, even gave away a COACH purse.
Sunday evening concluded with a compelling testimony from Operation Christmas Child shoebox recipient Jakeline Hernandez and an interactive Zoom performance from illusionist Harris III, author of The Wonder Switch, compliments of CPE’s gold sponsor HarperCollins Christian Publishing.
When the show floor opened Monday morning, retailers were ready to stock up and the vendors were ready to assist. There were over 40 stores and over 40 exhibitors at CPE Fall 2020. Most vendors came expecting simply to show support to the retailers. Collecting orders at the show was a bonus. On average, there were 22 orders written per store.
“VOM BOOKS was thrilled and honored to be part of the CPE event in Wilmington, DE,” said Chris Robinette, Executive Director of Voice of the Martyrs Books. “We went there with the mindset to pray for, encourage and bless those stores who attended the event, knowing they might be discouraged. Instead, we were blessed by all the encouraging words and optimism expressed by the retailers. . . . Many expressed how their business was starting to turn around as they were able to recently reopen and were very optimistic about the fourth quarter.”
On Tuesday, the show floor closed early at 2:00 PM with three cash prize drawings. The grand prize of $1500 went to Rachel Savage of Watermark Christian Store in Melbourne, FL. Second place went to Body Builders Bookstore in Rahway, NJ and third place went to Truth that Rocks in Northfield, NJ.
CPE is FREE to attend and offers retailers a generous reimbursement program, based on the number of orders written and presentations received at the show. For this show only, CPE decreased the required number of orders for reimbursement as well as added a $50 travel allowance to the lowest tier to help offset retailers’ travel costs.
Retailers and exhibitors have already signed up for the Winter 2021 show which will be on February 14-16 at the Embassy Suites & Concord Convention Center in Charlotte, NC.
To learn more about CPE show updates, visit cpeshow.com.
The Munce Group was founded in October 1991 and currently serves nearly 200 member retailers across the US. The mission of the Munce Group is to provide member retailers with the highest quality Christian materials and services to equip independent Christian retailers for the work of their ministry and business. Munce Group also hosts Christian Product Expo (CPE). CPE is the only industry trade show that is free to attend and provides a generous reimbursement program. Visit www.cpeshow.com.
