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Germany’s overall book sales rose slightly (0.2%) in 2013 to €9.54bn (£7.7bn), according to data from trade association Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels. The rise, following two years of decline, prompted Alexander Skipis, the association’s m.d., to stress Germany’s position as a “role model in regards to cultural diversity, variety of range and its comprehensive network of high street bookshops”.
Bricks-and-mortar booksellers have emerged the surprise winner. In a period that saw e-commerce sales down for the first time in years—by 0.5% to €1.56bn—physical bookshops increased turnover by 0.9% to €4.64bn, a market share of 48.6% (e-commerce claimed 16.3%).
According to Heinrich Riethmüller, newly elected president of the Börsenverein, there were several reasons for this. “The combination of instant availability, fixed prices and personalised customer service is unique and hard to improve,” he said, adding that many booksellers were benefiting from a “multi-channel” strategy.
Riethmüller should know: he and his family own Osiander, a chain of well-established bookshops in southern Germany, which dates back to 1596. Osiander is one of the country’s largest regional booksellers, with 29 branches and 340 employees; its turnover was up 11.9% in 2013, to €61.7m (£49.8m).
The book industry does not normally feature heavily in the German media, but this time there were a surprising number of reports and editorials in the press commenting on the fact that predictions of the demise of the traditional bookshop seem to have been premature. Most pieces also took pot shots at Amazon, referring to its muscle-flexing battle over better terms with Hachette in the US and Bonnier in Germany, and also to its ongoing dispute with the Ver.di union over working conditions in Amazon’s German logistic centres. Only last week Ver.di extended its strikes to a fourth distribution location, in Rheinsberg.
In a separate e-book survey, Börsenverein found that while the (trade) market share of e-books (excluding school and academic books) rose from 2.4% in 2012 to 3.9% in 2013, this growth was much slower than expected—sales tripled from 2011–2012. According to the study, 21.5 million e-books were sold in 2013, a rise of 63%, compared to a rise of over 200% 12 months earlier. Sixty-five per cent of all German publishers have now jumped on the e-book wagon, while nearly 80% of all bookshops sell e-books and e-readers.
Owing to a rise in fiction and children’s books, German publishers increased their output for the first time in four years: 81,919 new titles were released in 2013, up 2.6%. But the number of translated titles, which usually feature strongly in Germany, was down for a third successive year. A total of 6,466 translation rights were sold, nearly 6% down on 2012, and down by approximately a third on 2007.
The output figures were received with relief, as 2014 has been tougher than many had anticipated. Up until March, sales figures compiled by the trade paper Buchreport were down an alarming 8.8%. Since then the signs have been more positive: sales were up both in April (7.9%) and in May (2.5%).