German bookselling chain, trade publication to close

In Germany, Weltbild, once one of the country’s largest bookselling operations, is closing down on 31 August, while the German book trade paper BuchMarkt will close on 31 December after 59 years of operation, reports the Bookseller.

Weltbild’s owner, WBD2C Group (which is itself owned by private equity investor Droege Group), called in insolvency administrator Christian Plail in early June, but Plail was unable to find a buyer for the loss-making company because of ‘the very high operating costs in a persistently tough market’, according to the Bookseller, which reported the company’s remaining 14 brick-and-mortar stores and its online shop will be affected by the closure, with 440 employees being laid off. 

Weltbild was taken on by Droege Group after its previous owner, the Catholic Church, filed for insolvency in 2014. ‘Over the past 12 years, Weltbild [has] been one of the major players in the German market with sales of €1.6bn, 6,400 employees and 300 branches in the high street and shopping centres,’ said the Bookseller. 

The book trade paper BuchMarkt, meanwhile, will close as a result of ‘exploding costs and the unstable market—together with less income from advertising and fewer subscribers’, only two years after it was sold to a cooperative of more than 800 booksellers in an attempt to safeguard its future, said the Bookseller.

According to a report released by the German Publishers and Booksellers Association in July, after the first six months of 2024, the German book market across central sales channels had posted a 1.2% increase in turnover compared to the same period in 2023; however, sales were down 1.6%, while the prices paid by buyers had risen 2.8%.

Category: International news