Sales revival

Thu., April 7, 2005

Associated Press

LOCALLY

Kaufer sees heavy sales

» Two dozen books on the life of Pope John Paul II were gone two hours after arriving at Kaufer Co. in Spokane this week.

» Demand for religious products has been that way since the pope's death on Saturday, said Jolie Monasterio, director of programming for the Christian supply store that serves churches in Washington, Idaho and Montana. The demand spike has occurred at a time when the store is busiest, providing supplies for baptisms and first communions, she said.

» "All our recordings have sold out. All our books have sold out," Monasterio said. "There has been an increase in rosary demand from people wanting to say rosaries on his behalf."

» Customers have been asking for candles, pictures, cards, the pope's autobiography and his poetry collections, she said. Unfortunately, the store at 907 W. Boone has had to turn many people away.

» "All of the distributors are out of stock," she said. "All they can do is give us a ballpark estimate of when they may arrive."

BALTIMORE — Roman Catholic churches nationwide have been rushing to find bunting, candles and other products to help the faithful mourn the death of Pope John Paul II — and to recognize a new pontiff once he is chosen.

That’s meant a busy week for companies and stores that sell religious items.

“Until Friday, it was just a steady stream of people inquiring (about) what products would be available when the pope passes, and people were quite afraid to really come out and say it,” said Grant T. Orr, whose Gaithersburg company is one of the largest wholesale liturgical product sellers on the East Coast. The company also has a retail store in Baltimore.

Before it happened, Orr didn’t want to advertise or even bring up the subject of the pope’s death because doing so seemed crass to him: “I didn’t want to do anything really — other than the peripheral planning — until he passed.”

So when the pope died Saturday, business soared and made things hectic.

Condolence books and cards with the pope’s picture have been very popular, as have memorial candles with the papal coat-of-arms.

Orr has spent most of the week calling manufacturers, asking them to ship goods quickly. Some churches saw a month’s supply of candles dwindle rapidly over the weekend.

“If we don’t have it, we’re calling the manufacturers to see if they have it and if they’re willing to ship it,” he said.

Martin Marklin, whose Contoocook, N.H., company produces candles for special occasions for the church, also said the pope’s deteriorating health presented a difficult marketing problem.

“It’s a very fine line,” Marklin said. “It’s like selling funeral plots. You can’t knock people over the head.”

Marklin waited until the very end before advertising on the Web site for Marklin Candle Design. “Within minutes of his passing, our Web site was up,” he said. “Churches were calling us even on Saturday, on the weekend.”

At Robert F. Gaiser Inc. in Butler, N.J., which has made liturgical clothing for 60 years, Lisa and Steve Gaiser figure they’ll sell about 8,000 yards of bunting — almost five miles of cloth — during the papal transition period.

Sales revival

Residents on day 3 in emergency shelter, most businesses reopen following downtown apartment fire

TikTok loses court bid to stop US ban. Supreme Court appeal is expected

What Trump's nominations say about where trade and other economic policies might go