Family Christian Stores to Close All Locations
When I was in high school, my parents told me I had to get a job. I was fine with it for the most part. I'd have my own money and something to keep me busier and out of the house. Teenagers seem to hate being at home. So, I applied for a job at the Owensboro Family Christian Store and a nice gal named Mindy hired me.
It was a great place to work and the perfect first job. Low stress, fun Christian people, and amiable customers (for the most part). I continued to work there when I'd come home for breaks during college. It wasn't until I moved to Evansville that I stopped working for Family Christian all together.
This morning, I opened up my inbox and saw something that broke my heart. An email from the company stated that they'd be shutting down all stores and there was a liquidation sale going on. And, it's not like Big Boy Bob's Furniture and Mattress is going out of business and will pop back up a few hours later. I googled it, and the chain filed bankruptcy in 2015 and just couldn't recover.
“Despite improvements in product assortment and the store experience, sales continued to decline," said Chuck Bengochea, the company's president. "In addition, we were not able to get the pricing and terms we needed from our vendors to successfully compete in the market.
"We have prayerfully looked at all possible options, trusting God’s plan for our organization, and the difficult decision to liquidate is our only recourse.”
Pat and Bernie Zondervan opened the Zondervan bookstore and publishing enterprise in 1931 as a for-profit business. The company grew and opened stores throughout the Midwest. Today, what is now Family Christian Stores employs more than 3,000 people in 240 stores in 36 states. But, online stores have caused a 28% decline in sales and the now non-profit couldn't compete.
There isn't a time table for closing but everything in stores is 30% off and the email from the company said prices wouldn't be going any lower.