Trinity
Zone Grand Opening - October 31,
1996TrinityZone Introduced Following Bill Gates Demonstration of
Merchant Server
ANN
ARBOR, MI – November 6,1996 -- Trinity & Associates introduced
TrinityZone, a new Christian Internet bookstore last week at the Microsoft Site
Builder's Conference in San Jose, CA. Following Microsoft founder Bill Gates’
demonstration of the new Microsoft Merchant Server software package which was
used to develop the new Internet retail store, TrinityZone opened their Web site
to the public.
"The Internet is changing the sale and distribution of
products world -wide" said TrinityZone President, Robert Steele. "Our
aim is to combine proven retail principles we have worked with over the years
with the newly developing art of interactive consumer commerce. We believe that
successful Internet retailers must provide extraordinary product selection,
excellent value, a quick, easy and secure shopping experience, and excellence in
marketing and visual merchandising. We’ve designed TrinityZone to meet those
goals". 
"TrinityZone was born from our desire to serve Christians
around the world with the greatest Christian books and music available. We
intend to set a new standard for merchandising in cyberspace," Steele said.
"Christians everywhere, especially those serving in other parts of the
world are asking ‘Where can I find a good selection of Christian books,
Bibles, or CD’s?' Now they have the answer, because we carry a huge selection
of products which are easy to find and order, using any computer connected to
the Internet.
It's exciting to open new markets and serve people in this way, including
missionaries and churches in other countries." Steele sees TrinityZone and
other Christian Internet stores expanding the availability of Christian products
to new markets beyond the current traditional customer. "I know some of the
traditional bookstores are concerned about Internet stores, but lets remember
that not too many years ago a lot of people thought video tapes would kill the
movie industry. Today both industries are flourishing. I think non-electronic
books and bookstores will not only survive, but show substantial growth over the
next decade. I enjoy shopping in a store, but I also see the benefits of online
shopping."
In addition to the availability of a broad selection of
products, there are several benefits seen by customers to shopping over the
Internet. Convenience is one of them. "All of us are so busy, it’s
getting harder and harder to find the time to get out and shop for ourselves or
for gifts for others. The Internet is open 24 hours a day and is located just a
few feet away in our home or at the office. That’s convenient".
The web store opened with over 68,000 books, Bibles,
cassettes, CD’s’ and other products available. Plans for expanding product
selection are already underway. The store merchandises products in a variety of
ways, including best-seller lists, recommended reading lists, award winning
books and music sections, author and artist corners, browsing by subject and
search by author, title, and so on. A virtual "shopping cart" is used
to capture orders and checkout is accomplished using secured credit card
transactions, just like most other retail stores. Shoppers will be relied upon
to determine the sequence of adding the additional features TrinityZone has
planned.
One of the initial problems for TrinityZone was the issue of security. Many
people believe that the Internet is unsafe for credit card purchases. According
to the site developer, Bob Christensen, owner of Creative Technology Solutions
(CTS) of Atlanta, Microsoft's new Merchant Server solves the security problem
using the new SET security standard, approved by VISA and MasterCard. "In
reality, there are hundreds or thousands of cases of credit card fraud daily and
almost none of those on the Internet. So it's an issue of inaccurate perception
- but the perception will now change as Microsoft, VISA, MasterCard, Netscape
and others implement this new level of encryption for Internet transactions,
which makes it almost impossible to steal a credit card on the Internet - so
now, with TrinityZone and other stores using SET, it is VERY, VERY safe to shop
with credit cards."
TrinityZone.com was founded earlier this year as a division of
Trinity & Associates, Inc. and is managed by Robert Steele with technical
development overseen by Robert Christensen. Combined, they have extensive
experience in both the retail and wholesale distribution segments of the
Christian book selling industry, management, computer systems, and EDI.
Creative Technology Solutions, the developer of TrinityZone is
owned by Mr. Christensen. CTS is an Internet consulting and development firm
near Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in helping companies go on the Internet.
They design and construct web sites using Microsoft's Merchant Server and other
tools, consult on Electronic Commerce and EDI, and aid in building internal
Intranet solutions.
Robert Steele is a noted management consultant, currently
designs and remodels Christian bookstores, was a former Christian bookstore
manager and former VP with Spring Arbor Distributors. Bob Christensen is a
computer consultant with sixteen years experience in the software industry, and
was also formerly a Christian bookstore manager and VP with Spring Arbor.
TrinityZone is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and can be
reached at (734) 994-4055 or email us
. CTS is located in Suwanee, Georgia and can be reached at (770) 513-1495.
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