Family Christian Stores set to close

Company has been struggling for years

PARKERSBURG -- Family Christian Stores, including those in West Virginia in Parkersburg, Charleston and Barboursville, will be closing at an undetermined time this year, the company announced on Thursday.

The company has been in business for 85 years.

The Parkersburg location is at 204 Lakeview Center.

Carol Kapple, manager of the store who has been with the company for 35 years, 30 years as a manager, said the closure would affect six employees, including herself, in Parkersburg.

"I just want to thank the loyal customers who have been with us for so long," she said. "I just want to thank them for letting me serve them for so many years. I feel bad for the employees and managers who have lost their jobs across the country. It's going to be rough."

The Parkersburg location will be closed within two months, depending on the speed of liquidation, she said.

Family Christian employs more than 3,000 people in 240 stores in 36 states. The company said it has been facing declining sales since filing for bankruptcy protection in 2015.

"The retail landscape is changing. Despite improvements in product assortment and our store experience we have not been able to generate the sales necessary to sustain our business," said Chuck Bengochea, company president in a prepared statement. "We have fought hard because we deeply believe in our mission to help people find, grow, share and celebrate their faith in Jesus Christ.

"We have had two difficult years, and prayerfully looking at all possible options, and trusting God's plan for our organization, we have made the difficult decision to close our stores."

The company was founded in 1931 by the brothers Pat and Bernie Zondervan of the Zondervan Publishing House in Grandville, Mich. The Zondervans began the company to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in publishing and eventually spread its publishing business into Christian resources and products.

The name was changed to Family Bookstores in the 1970s.

Several businessmen from Atlanta bought the company in 2012 from a private equity firm, which sustained years of losses, and the company transitioned from a for-profit enterprise to a non-profit organization that gave away Bibles and gospel tracts around the world and made donations to groups that care for orphans and widows.

Family Bookstores filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February 2015 with more than $127 million in debt. The sales decline was due to growing competition from online stores, officials said.