German bookstore chain and specialist publication face closure

In Germany, Weltbild, once one of the country’s largest booksellers, will close on August 31, while the German book trade newspaper BookMarket will close on December 31 after 59 years of operation, reports the Bookseller.

The owner of Weltbild, the WBD2C Group (which in turn is owned by Private equity investor Droege Group), At the beginning of June, the insolvency administrator Christian Plail called the group. However, Plail was unable to find a buyer for the loss-making company because “operating costs were very high in a persistently difficult market environment.”after Booksellerthat about the The closure will affect the remaining 14 stationary stores and the online shop; 440 employees will be laid off.

Weltbild was taken over by the Droege Group after the previous owner, the Catholic Church, filed for bankruptcy in 2014. “Weltbild has been one of the largest players on the German market over the past 12 years with sales of 1.6 billion euros, 6,400 employees and 300 branches in city centers and shopping centers,” says the Droege Group. Bookseller.

The book trade newspaper BookMarketis meanwhile closed due to ‘exploding costs and an unstable market – along with lower advertising revenues and fewer subscribers,” just two years after the publisher was sold to a cooperative of more than 800 booksellers in an attempt to secure its future, the Bookseller.

According to a report by of the German Publishers and Booksellers Association in July,After the first six months of 2024, the German book market recorded a 1.2 percent increase in sales via central distribution channels compared to the same period last year; however, sales fell by 1.6 percent, while the prices paid by buyers rose by 2.8 percent.

Category: International News