I’ve received several emails asking about why the Christmas Collection is not in a lot of stores today so I thought I would go ahead and address the issue.
Christmas releases are always a bit tricky:
Christian Market Retailers (Lifeway, Family Christian Stores, Berean, etc.) – Stores order product and usually have it in their stores on street date (which is usually late September). However, not every store puts the product out for sale or positions it on endcaps, etc. on street date. Most wait until late October or early November when they set their stores for Christmas products. If you ask the store clerk to see if they have received any, they’ll most likely find it in their stock room and sell it to you. General Market Retailers (Walmart, Target, Best Buy, etc.) – a lot of times they don’t buy in many Christmas units until later in October…and certainly don’t position them until later. Their "real estate" (i.e. shelf space) is a hot commodity and they don’t put albums out until they think they will sell quickly. They don’t believe most of their consumers are looking for Christmas music in September/early October. These are "general" answers. Obviously if Hannah Montana or some huge selling artist releases a Christmas album it is in the stores best interest to put it out there as soon as possible. Hope this answers the question. Distribution from the label is not a problem. The perceived problem is simply an issue of the stores determining when it best suits their business to put a Christmas album on the shelf.
