Parasource Distribution to Close in May
Canada’s largest wholesale distributor of Christian books and resources, Parasource Marketing and Distribution of Paris, Ontario, announced yesterday (1/31) that will cease operations as of May 31st.
In an email letter to stores, President Greg Tombs wrote,
Parasource Marketing and Distribution has had to make a very difficult decision to close operations on May 31, 2023. We have notified our vendors and we have their complete support to work with us and keep the flow of product moving until the end of May.
Parasource will be here to continue to service and supply you with the product lines you have come to rely on us for, until the end of May. We want to assure you that any outstanding orders we have at that time will be properly dealt with in consultation with both you and our suppliers.
Until then, we are carrying on “business as usual” until we see ourselves well past the Easter period. And we will certainly communicate with you throughout the next 4 months to keep you informed…
Parasource was formerly known as David C. Cook Canada, and before that as Beacon Distributing. The company also included Augsburg-Fortress Canada, and many years prior, Christian Music Canada (CMC Distribution). Of the big three distributors (the other two being HarperCollins Christian Products, and Anchor/Word Alive) it was the only remaining company actively warehousing product on the Canadian side of the border.
It represented basically all of the major Sunday School curriculum lines, serviced store greeting card displays on behalf of Dayspring Cards, and was both a distributor and publisher representative for major lines such as Baker Book Group, Broadman and Holman, Moody Publishers, InterVarsity Press (IVP), David C. Cook, Destiny Image, Charisma House, and many, many others, including publishers from the UK and several giftware lines.
The announcement concludes:
For our part, it has been a privilege to come along side of you to help you resource your customers with quality Christian publishing, music, entertainment, and gift products.
Your Response (Value-Added Comments Only)
Christian Book Shop Talk 
With the wholesale division (Parasource Marketing & Distribution) closing does this also mean the retail/online division (Parasource.com) as well?
I thought of that also, but I believe that’s what is expected. The systems are quite intertwined.
Here’s a quote from Greg Tombs that appealed in an article from ECPA:
“By contrast, our direct webstore, Parasource.com, is the one part of our business that has grown substantially over the past 2 years. It is our intention to find a buyer for our webstore and our strong on-line businesses.”
Source:
https://rushtopress.org/11840-2/
First, note the reference in the last word of your quote to “businesses” in the plural. He’s referring to the Amazon shop and Parasource.com; and it’s the Amazon store which, based on the study I did a year ago, is seeing the real action.
But what would a “buyer” buy? Some of the merchandise sold there isn’t even Parasource-distributed product, but rather, comes from HarperCollins. And I believe there’s now Tyndale product there as well. A “buyer” could decide to simply start something similar from scratch. The “value” of the direct-to-consumer businesses is all in the customer list and customer history. And if you’re hitching your wagon to Amazon, they’re not looking nearly as good as they did a year ago.
Plus, I stand by my statement that right now the wholesale and retail businesses are fully integrated, and a potential buyer would need to sever the one from the other.
Furthermore, without the wholesale distribution side of the business, would U.S. and U.K. publishers continue to grant the newly-formed entity the (sometimes very) generous distributor discounts? You can run efficiently if you’ve got both the wholesale and retail margins, and do things like offer free shipping, but if you’ve formally stated that you are no longer a publisher representative and no longer a wholesale distributor, those wider margins could start to evaporate. (It would also give remaining Christian retailers in Canada a much stronger case in which to cry foul, pressuring those same publishers to create a more level playing field.)
You’d also have to retain some of the existing personnel who know the product lines and can do both buying and marketing with intelligence.
Finally, you’d need to locate a buyer who sees a bright future in the Canadian Christian products consumer market and wants to make a very, very significant investment.
I’m willing to admit the possibility I’m wrong, but I don’t see it happening.