FAMILY CHRISTIAN IS CLOSING!!

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As many of you have heard by now, all Family Christian Stores are closing at the end of April (2017), if they haven’t closed already.  There has been a small panic among many of our customers, and others in the greater DSM & Ankeny areas because of the huge loss they feel with another Christian Bookstore closing (Cokesbury & Wellspring both closed a few years ago).   Many questions have been asked:  What does that mean for the community?  Why is this happening?  Where are we going to go to get our books & bibles, not to mention the unique gifts, with a meaning?

I don’t know if I have an answer to the “why is this happening” question, except to say that traditional bookstores, (as well as other retail stores), have seen their customers leave them to shop online.  While we all do online shopping, I don’t think we honestly consider the serious consequences of what that convenience might have.  Do you know that when we consumers, shop locally,  the money we spend goes back into the community in which we shop?  Do we realize that money spent in our local restaurants, boutiques, grocery stores, salons, etc., is livelihood for the owner(s) & his employees?  Do we think about the fact that the taxes paid at these local establishments goes back into our state, which will help in areas we might not think about?  Honestly, I’m not sure I’ve thought that deeply about it before, but as a store owner, I, now,  think about it all the time.   If we don’t want to see stores continue to close, we need to realize that shopping locally isn’t “inconvenient” or “too time consuming”, as we’ve allowed ourselves to think, but is rather “time & money well-spent in my community”.

What does this mean for you when you are wanting /needing the books, bibles & unique gifts?  Well… I would hope it means that you will not go online to shop for your books & bibles, but will continue to shop one of your brick & mortar stores:  HIDDEN TREASURES GIFTS in Altoona,  DIVINE TREASURES (DSM), or SANCTUARY in Pella, just to mention a few.  What can these stores bring you that the online shopping can’t?  PERSONAL CUSTOMER SERVICE…!!!

At Hidden Treasures Gifts, we bring over 30 years of Christian Retail experience to our customers.  Our store may be smaller than you expect, and when you walk in, you won’t have the huge bookstore atmosphere; however, because of the years of experience and knowledge of products, we are able to provide the same service that the big bookstores have.  We LOVE our customers, and do our best to meet whatever need they have, be it large or small!!  Come…check us out…or if you are already a customer of ours, then tell your friends about us because we want to be here to serve you for MANY years to come!!

Blessings!!  Twila (Owner/Hidden Treasure Gifts)