New Sophistication in Vatican Retailing
It has a recognizable name. Revenues have jumped 400% in four years and companies come begging for exclusivity rights. Business is so brisk that it’s planning to tap the Internet to expand its market reach.
With results like these, who needs a miracle? Certainly not the Roman Catholic Church.
The world’s largest religious organization has hit its stride in the consumer marketplace, selling everything from religious icons to comfortable wood chairs and soft silk ties.
“We are a great museum, like the Louvre in Paris or the Metropolitan Museum in New York and have much to offer,” said Francesco Riccardi, chief administrator of the Vatican Museums and the chief architect of the church’s merchandising boom.
“The Vatican has so many beautiful pieces of art that are stashed away, that few people have seen,” added Chicago rug dealer Armen Minasian, who produces woven rugs adapted from the church’s thick stock of ancient tapestries. The 4-foot-by-6-foot rugs retail at Marshall Field’s department stores for up to $5,000 under the name “Vatican Museums Editions.”
Few people would dispute the church’s invaluable inheritance. Its enormous stock of antiquated paintings and sculptures are among the world’s finest. Its archives are lined with dusty originals of Cicero and Dante.
But with Pope John Paul II sternly and unequivocally condemning rampant materialism, consumerism and capitalism, should the Vatican be in the business of selling Ferragamo scarves that retail for $162?
“It seems to me it’s not immoral for them to sell marketable products,” said William May, a theologian at the John Paul II Institute of Marriage and Family in Washington. “But whether it’s proper for them to sell high-priced items I think is a legitimate question. It could be a problem if the basic message they’re sending is one that promotes consumerism.”
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In response to such questions, Riccardi said: “My strategy is to sell a good product, and when possible, one with a Christian, Catholic message. If this combination is possible for us, it is the best.”
But what is best is not always available, he added.
The Vatican--which began running a small operating surplus in 1993 after 22 consecutive years of losses--says it could not possibly pay for the enormous costs required to keep the museums current without its aggressive marketing strategy.
“We need revenues to support all the expenses that the museums have, like guards, conservationists, restorers, researchers,” Riccardi said.
What’s more, Riccardi and others recognize that most of the 3 million people who annually visit the Vatican Museums--a collection of galleries within Vatican City--are art lovers, but not necessarily Catholics.
So, while visitors can still buy art and history books--which remain the No. 1 retail item--or posters and gift cards, they can also pay $40 for a leather-bound photo album and $80 for an umbrella with geometric patterns.
The Vatican sells nearly 400 products, most of which have religious, historic or artistic themes. The museums recently began offering an 18-karat gold medal depicting the statue of Laocoon--the pagan priest of Apollo who sought to warn his fellow Trojans about a certain wooden horse--that was excavated in Rome in 1506. Retail price? $840.
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Visitors to the Vatican gift shop--or the new boutique it opened three months ago outside the Vatican walls--can buy rings, pins, necklaces or wristwatches. They can also cart away something a tad heavier, like a plaster bust of Julius Caesar for $270.
The potential for new bounty seems endless. Riccardi receives at least one unsolicited proposal a week from some company wishing to produce something “exclusively” for the Vatican. The church has about 20 such arrangements now, mostly with Italian companies. Neither the Vatican nor the companies will reveal the terms of these agreements.
The Vatican is also becoming increasingly savvy about marketing techniques.
Later this month, it will introduce a merchandise catalog on CD-ROM for retailers in selected markets in the United States. The church is also shopping for distributors in Germany, France and England, among other countries.
In addition, it is developing a World Wide Web site where consumers with access to the Internet will be able to review products and place orders.
The high-tech approach to marketing is meant to complement the Vatican Museums’ catalog, which has been mailed to more than 1.5 million middle- and upper-income consumers in the United States since last Christmas. Catalogs for other countries are in development.
On the retail front, the Vatican is looking for suitable markets for opening boutiques, including a second retail site in the central city area of Rome.
Vatican officials will not divulge revenues or profits from their marketing activity, although they acknowledge a 400% increase in revenues compared to four years ago.
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The city-state’s 1995 surplus was $1.6 million, four times the profit margin in 1994, and the museums’ product line is said to account for much of that.
The most visible jump into the retail market was made by John Paul himself, who became an overnight literary star two years ago with the publication of “Crossing the Threshold of Hope.” The book has sold more than 3 million hardback copies worldwide, one-third of them in the United States, according to publisher Alfred A. Knopf Inc.
The Vatican has reaped millions from the book’s sales. Some of that is being spent to help rebuild the church in the former Yugoslavia. The balance is set to go to other charities.
In another sharp marketing move, the Vatican released a CD and cassette tape of the pope reciting the rosary to coincide with John Paul’s American tour last October. More than 1 million copies of the recording are in circulation.
And earlier this year, the Vatican issued a new CD-ROM collection called “The Treasures of the Vatican.” The 11-disk set retails for about $80 and includes images from Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and the museums’ Picture Gallery.
