LifeWay to close all stores

LifeWay Christian Resources announced Wednesday it will close all 170 of its retail stores this year and focus on digital sales. In January, the publishing arm of the Southern Baptist Convention said it would reduce its brick-and-mortar locations due to declining customer traffic and sales. “While we had hoped to keep some stores open, current market projections show this is no longer a viable option,” acting President and CEO Brad Waggoner said in a statement.

The company said Wednesday that it interacts with five times as many people through its digital platforms as it does through LifeWay Christian Stores. The timing of store closings will vary, but the company expects all of them to shut down by the end of the year.

LifeWay became the country’s largest Christian retail chain in 2017 when Family Christian Stores, which had 240 locations, closed all of its stores two years after filing for bankruptcy.