PEABODY — While rumors have been circulating for six months that Christianbook on Summit Street would be sold, employees were given the good news on Tuesday that the company has taken on a new employer, which will keep the store open.
Before Tuesday’s announcement, many employees had been left wondering about their futures if the giant book and online retailer fell into new ownership.
Now it appears that they will be staying right where they are, after learning the company is not being sold. Christianbook is taking on the Boston-based private equity firm Nonantum Capital Partners as a partner.
“It’s not the blockbuster news we thought it would be, but it’s better than anything we could have hoped for, and we are elated,” said Christianbook CEO and President Ray Hendrickson. “I spoke to our employees (Tuesday) and they are absolutely thrilled. The feedback we have been getting already is overwhelmingly positive. None of us ever pictured this happening. It’s the best possible outcome: a win-win for everybody.”
Hendrickson said he will stay on as president and CEO, but will eventually move into a new role on the board of directors.
“This will allow me to step back from my current role, but we still own the company together,” he said. “The great thing is there will be no change in the way we conduct business going forward except for those things we need to do to grow the business even forward. We will stay in place as we still have 14-plus years left on our lease, so we aren’t going anywhere. Our entire management team is unchanged and we hope to have more job opportunities.”
Hendrickson said Nonantum’s vision for the future is in sync with that of Christianbook.
“They and their president, Jon Biotti, see the world the same way we do and we share the same values: integrity with a high degree of confidence,” he said.
According to Hendrickson, Christianbook will benefit in other areas, including development of key strategic direction learned from Nonantum’s extensive experience in the e-commerce catalog industry.
“We will be able to share notes and best practices,” Hendrickson said. “They have industry veterans that will serve on future boards to help identify and develop new areas of growth.
“Honestly, six months ago when we started our dialogue with Nonantum, people were afraid they were going to lose their jobs if a new owner came in. Nobody could have imagined this. I think Tuesday was an incredible day to be able to see our entire staff have such a wonderful day. It’s just an amazing feeling,” he said.
