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Lifeway Christian Bookstore history
Lifeway Christian Bookstore company history timeline
In 1891, Doctor James M. Frost, Lifeway's first president, had a desk, a corner of a newspaper office, and a little money he borrowed from his wife.
At the time of the organization's inception as a Southern Baptist entity in 1891, the official name was "The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention." So it was recorded in the Convention minutes then, and remained for more than 100 years.
1931-70: Christian Bookstore and Publishing House Is Founded and Expands
In 1932, the brothers opened their first bookstore in Grand Rapids and in the next year began publishing books under the Zondervan imprint.
1966: The company acquires Harper & Row's Bible department.
Beginning as early as 1971, the Lifeway name was used in limited applications.
The company thrived through the first part of the 1980s, growing significantly via the acquisition of other companies, including, in 1980, the John T. Benson Company, a religious music publisher, several book publishers, and Tapley-Rutter Co., a specialty bindery.
He had joined the Zondervan chain in 1992, two years before the buyout from HarperCollins.
Meanwhile, in September 1993, the Zondervan division split into two distinct parts, the publishing operation, which retained the Zondervan name, and the Family Bookstores operation.
1994: FCS is acquired from HarperCollins through a leveraged buyout.
1995-97: Growth Through Acquisition and a New Company Name
In 1995, it estimated that at least 25 percent of its annual revenues were generated from the sale of music recordings and videos, including items in its stores' children's departments.
The Joshua outlets added 56, and new openings in 1998 brought the total to 280 by May.
In 1998, the Sunday School Board officially changed its name to Lifeway Christian Resources.
At that time, Dietzman indicated that the company also had plans to expand by about 30 new stores by the end of 1998.
In 1999, it also got the needed financial backing it sought when Madison Dearborn Partners began investing in FCS. The funds provided by that firm allowed the company to stay on its expansion track.
Although it had once been on schedule to grow to 500 locations by the end of 2000, it decided to step back to concentrate its investment in remodeling and relocating some of its existing outlets.
2000: FCS buys eight stores of Shepherd Shoppe chain.
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Lifeway Christian Bookstore competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rainbow International | 1981 | $213.7M | 1,750 | 219 |
| SSC Engineering | 1991 | $8.5M | 60 | - |
| HomeSafe | 1979 | $10.0M | 50 | 8 |
| Up Market Research | 2015 | $3.0M | 750 | - |
| Wall Mart Services | 2015 | $8.7M | 97 | - |
| Englefield Oil | 1961 | $1.1B | 3,000 | - |
| REOPCO | - | $111.5M | 500 | 149 |
| Kress Stores of Puerto Rico | 1963 | $19.0M | 15 | - |
| Professional | 1994 | $570,000 | 7 | - |
| gen-E | 1999 | $47.0M | 50 | - |
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