Koorong

Koorong logo

Koorong is a Christian bookstore chain operating across Australia. It is the largest retailer of Christian books and media in Australia.

History

Koorong is a family-owned company that began over 35 years ago[1] in Marsfield, Sydney, in the garage of the Koorong Street home of Bruce Bootes - a retired veterinarian and Reformed Baptist pastor - and his wife Olive.[2] In 1978, their son, Paul began the management of his family’s bookshop business.[3]

Koorong opened their first Sydney store in Ryedale Road, West Ryde in 1978, moving to larger premises in West Parade, West Ryde in 1995.[4] In August 2005, Koorong took over the three Church Army bookstores at Newcastle, Tamworth and Gosford.[5]

The Blackburn store in Melbourne

Koorong now operates 15 stores across Australia,[6] including Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Hobart, Fyshwick, Toowoomba and Launceston, with approximately 400 staff, Australia-wide[7] and a brochure mailing list of about 120,000.[8]

Koorong was described in 1994 as theologically conservative in terms of the books it sold, which was consistent with its Reformed Baptist roots.[9] Since that time, Koorong’s product range has expanded[10] to a broader coverage of the diverse sub-groups and movements associated with contemporary evangelical Christianity, including, for example: Church Growth movement, Charismatic Movement, Progressive Christianity, neo-Calvinism, Emerging church, and the Missional Church movement. Denominational streams represented include Reformed/Presbyterian, Baptist, Anglican, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Anabaptist, and Wesleyan.

In addition to a comprehensive range of Bibles, the subject categories and themes of Koorong's product range include: practical guidance on Christian living; popular devotionals; apologetics; academic theology and biblical studies; ministry resources; romance, suspense, and historical fiction; inspirational giftware; classic authors; Bible reference works and commentaries; contemporary worship music.[11] It has been asserted that most of the titles sold at Koorong are by North American authors.[12]

In December 2009 Koorong purchased UK based book publisher Authentic Media and Paternoster Publishers from IBS-STL.[13]

Notes

  1. ↑ ASIC. "Company Name Search". Retrieved 2008-11-05.
  2. ↑ See the Koorong General FAQ webpage. Retrieved on 8 May 2009.
  3. ↑ See a brief profile of Paul Bootes on the Gospel Music Association Board Profile webpage. Retrieved on 8 May 2009.
  4. ↑ See the Koorong History page for these dates.
  5. ↑ See the Church Army August 2005 newsletter. Retrieved on 7 May 2009.
  6. ↑ "Koorong: Store Info". Retrieved 2 December 2008.
  7. ↑ As reported on 2 August 2005 in a Mitel Press Release. Retrieved on 7 May 2009.
  8. ↑ As at November 2004, the Australian Prayer Network thanked Koorong for mailing out its prayer newsletter in Koorong's monthly catalogue, with a size of 120,000. Retrieved on 11 May 2009. The August 2005 Mitel case study also gave a figure of about 120,000. Retrieved on 12 May 2009.
  9. ↑ See the Association for Research in Education 1994 paper by Robert Long. Retrieved on 11 May 2009.
  10. ↑ Koorong advertises on its website that it has 150,000 Christian products.
  11. ↑ See
  12. ↑ See Charisma Magazine article entitled "What's Happening Down Under" dated 27 July 2007. Retrieved on 12 May 2009.
  13. ↑ "STL Distribution: IBS-STL UK Trade Announcement".

External links