German bookselling operation Weltbild to close down as 440 employees laid off

Weltbild, once one of Germany’s largest bookselling operations, is closing down on 31st August. The remaining 14 brick-and-mortar stores and Weltbild’s online shop will be affected, with 440 employees being laid off. 

Owner WBD2C Group, itself a subsidiary of Düsseldorf-based private equity investor Droege Group, called in insolvency administrator Christian Plail in early June. However, while Plail talked to several possible suitors, none were prepared to buy the loss-making company.  

This is because of the very high operating costs in a persistently tough market, said Plail: “Without fresh capital a permanent and sustainable continuation of the business is not possible.”  

Weltbild have previously survived a similar situation in 2014, when the Catholic Church (the then-owner) couldn’t find a buyer and filed for insolvency. Back then Droege jumped in, installing a strict restructuring process.  

Apart from Weltbild, exploding costs and the unstable market—together with less income from advertising and fewer subscribers—have this week claimed another victim in the German market: book trade paper BuchMarkt will close on 31st December after 59 years. Only two years ago, the magazine was sold to eBuch, a cooperative of more than 800 independent booksellers, to safeguard its future.