Germany | The Bookseller

Bertelsmann formally disbands its book club division 'Direct Group'

Publication Date: Wed, 15/06/2011 - 07:46

Bertelsmann has disbanded its Direct Group division having all-but completed what it described as the scale-back of its book clubs business. Its remaining book club interests, most notably in Germany and Spain, will now be run out of "Corporate Investments", a division that also includes BMG’s music rights business, as well as...

BCA | Bertelsmann | Book Clubs | Bookseller Staff | Germany | International | Todays Picks
Bertelsmann's Club to open to public

Publication Date: Tue, 07/06/2011 - 12:10

Bertelsmann's Direct Group is to open to the public all of the retail stores operated by its ailing German book club operation Der Club.

Previously the group allowed only members into the chain, a strategy which impacted a limited number of branches. From 1st July all shops will be open to the public.

To sidestep the...

Anja Sieg | Bertelsmann | Der Club | Direct Group | Germany | International | Retail
Amazon launches German Kindle store with fixed prices

Publication Date: Thu, 21/04/2011 - 13:53

More than three years after it was introduced in North America and eight months after the UK become the first country outside of the US to get a dedicated Kindle store, Germany has followed suit. The German Kindle store was launched on Amazon.de today (21st April), boasting the largest selection of any e-bookstore in the German-speaking...

Anja Sieg | Germany | Home | internatonal | Kindle
German expansion

Publication Date: Wed, 23/02/2011 - 09:42

The mood among German booksellers is, if not grim, at least subdued after a poor Christmas. According to a Buchreport survey only 32% believe that their business will recover any time soon, 34% expect stagnating sales, and as many as 30% predict further decline. One bookseller sums up the general mood: "It simply has to get better...

Anja Sieg | blog | Germany | Home | International | Retail
WikiLeaks defector to publish tell-all book

Publication Date: Wed, 08/12/2010 - 09:15

A German publisher is set to release a behind-the-scenes title about whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks, written by a former staffer.

According to publisher Ullstein, Inside WikiLeaks will "take [readers] into the heart of WikiLeaks" and "tell the story of WikiLeaks as it has not yet been heard." Its subtitle...

Germany | Katie Allen | Todays Picks | WikiLeaks
Germany to have Kindle store

Publication Date: Tue, 09/11/2010 - 09:28

Germany could become the next market outside of the United States and United Kingdom to have a dedicated Kindle store.

Buchmarkt reports that publishers at the recent Homer 3.0 conference in Berlin said they were in discussions with...

digital | e-book | e-reader | Germany | Graeme Neill | International | Katie Allen | Kindle
Thalia launches Oyo e-reader for Europe

Publication Date: Tue, 02/11/2010 - 08:30

Germany’s largest bookseller Thalia has launched its own e-reader, the Oyo, in time for the holiday season. Thalia has formed a European alliance for the reader: Bertelsmann’s Direct Group will distribute the device exclusively in France through Chapitre.com, leading Dutch bookseller Selexyz and the Polish chain Empik are also on...

Anja Sieg | digital | e-books | e-reader | Germany | International | Oyo | Todays Picks
Langenscheidt scales back in Germany and US

Publication Date: Tue, 28/09/2010 - 08:35

Langenscheidt is embarking on a series of stringent cost-cutting measures to turn around the privately held German publisher and its travel, reference and language brands. Among the package introduced by publisher Andreas Langenscheidt are redundancies in Germany and the sale of the North American map business set up in the 1980s.

...

Anja Sieg | Germany | International | Langenscheidt
Weltbild rises again in Germany

Publication Date: Fri, 06/08/2010 - 05:28

Weltbild is back in business after a period of extensive restructuring

Figures for fiscal 2009/10 (to end-June) show turnover up slightly to €1.65bn (£1.37bn), establishing the Bavaria-based company once again as Germany’s largest bookselling operation with a market share of 18%. As a privately held business Weltbild...

Anja Sieg | Catherine Neilan | Germany | International
Bertelsmann and Holtzbrinck to develop e-book platform

Publication Date: Tue, 20/07/2010 - 05:22

German media companies Bertelsmann and Holtzbrinck are to join forces and create an online distribution platform to sell e-books to end-consumers.

While the business partners have already submitted the paperwork to the European Commission in Brussels for approval, most details are still being kept under wraps. A date for the platform to...

Anja Sieg | Bertelsmann | digital | e-books | Germany | Holtzbrink | International