Difference between revisions of "Mitchell Family Books"

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Mitchell Family Books

R.G. Mitchell Family Books was both a distributor and retailer of Christian material in Canada. Their wholesale division represented more than 40 American and British publishers in Canada. They sold their products in markets from coast to coast. Their retail division was made up of 5 stores in the Southern Ontario region. They were proud to service the Niagara Region through our St Catharines store, the Kitchener-Waterloo region through our Kitchener store and the Greater Toronto Area through their Whitby store in the east, their Etobicoke and Brampton stores in the west and through their Willowdale flagship store in the north.

Their main goal both online and in their stores was to put the right resources in the right hands at the right time so that lives are changed.

R.G. Mitchell Family Books (RGM) Closes

In a move that was expected to have a ripple effect on the Canadian Christian product industry, the largest Christian distributor in Canada filed for bankruptcy earlier this week, shutting down its retail and wholesale divisions.

Ontario-based R.G. Mitchell Family Books (RGM), which began operations in 1934 and had several bookstores in the region, unexpectedly closed Monday. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

R.G. Mitchell's closure has caused some U.S. publishers to scramble to find other sources of distribution in Canada. For the last three years, RGM has distributed books and magazines published by Strang Communications, including Christian Retailing.

Rebeccah Barker, international sales manager, said Strang has been in contact with Word Alive Distributors this week, and the Lake Mary, Fla.-based company was exploring signing with the distributor. Word Alive distributed Strang products for many years prior to the company signing with R.G. Mitchell in 2005.

"This is a major dent in the Canadian distribution of Christian resources," Mark Hutchinson—co-owner of Blessings Christian Marketplace, a chain of four stores based in Chilliwack, British Columbia—told Christian Retailing. "We are working extremely hard to source the products (that RGM) carried through U.S. distributors and publishers. We are not sure what this will mean in the (short) term.

"I expect that other Canadian distributors will work to pick up the RGM lines," Hutchinson added. "We are very sorry that RGM has had to close their doors. … Our thoughts and prayers are with the Mitchell family and their team."

RGM had been downsizing recently, closing its Ontario locations in Oshawa and Etobicoke as well as selling its store in St. Catharines. The chain had seven stores remaining in Ontario, located in Willowdale, Kitchener, Pickering, Whitby, Kingston, Brampton and Hamilton before bankruptcy proceedings, Rob Bennett, R.G. Mitchell's retail marketing manager, told Christian Retailing. RGM took over the stores in Hamilton and Brampton from the Blessings chain.

In a recent open letter to RGM's customers, President David Freeland urged them to buy from the stores and Web site of the 74-year-old distributor and chain.

Source: ChristianRetailing.com http://www.christianretailing.com/archives.php?IssID=2497

Contact Mitchell Family Books

R.G. Mitchell Family Books
565 Gordon Baker Rd.
Willowdale, Ontario Canada M2H 2W2

Toll-Free: 1-800-268-3445

http://www.mitchellfamilybooks.com