Germany's largest book chain Thalia in 'expansive mode' with two huge new projects planned

Germany’s largest book chain Thalia is in expansive mode. Apart from a state-of-the-art logistics centre that will open in 2026 and a new headquarters in the planning stages for 2028, the company is also expanding its high-street portfolio. In particular, two prestigious projects in Hamburg and Frankfurt stand out.

Hamburg’s new shopping mall, Westfield Hamburg-Überseequartier, will finally open on 8th April after a 12-month delay. Thalia is among the anchor tenants, having secured a prime location on 1,700 sq metres and two floors.

Layout and optics of the new flagship store will differ vastly from the current shop fitting concept, according to CEO Ingo Kretzschmar.

Westfield is core to Hamburg’s new urban quarter HafenCity. The spectacular complex at the river Elbe combines an innovative concept for living, working, shopping, leisure and dining on over 500,000 sq metres across 14 interconnected buildings. It also includes three hotels and a cruise terminal. Building works started in 2019. Investment costs have since risen from an estimated €1.5bn to close to €2.5bn.

Another major Thalia opening has been announced for the summer of 2026 in Frankfurt – 2,500 sq metres on two floors in a top location on Zeil, one of Germany’s busiest and most lucrative shopping streets. An intriguing part of the announcement is the fact that the new store is only a short distance away from the 4,000-sq metre bookshop rival book chain Hugendubel has been operating for many years.

While Thalia keeps the budget for the two top stores under wraps, it has revealed that the logistics centre with its cutting edge technology will have a budget of up to €100m. Located in the new gate.ruhr industrial park, a former mining location near the city of Marl in the west of Germany, construction work has recently started. The hub covers 56,000 sq metres, creates up to 1,000 jobs and is expected to be operational by early 2026.

According to Kretzschmar, who calls the hub “another milestone in the development of Thalia and a strong commitment to the future of bookselling”, huge emphasis will be put on ecology and sustainability following top German energy efficiency standards. Heat is generated emission-free through efficient heat pumps, while other features range from green roofs to photovoltaic panels, rainwater management and the use of renewable raw materials.

Thalia currently operates approximately 400 bookshops in Germany and Austria, plus 60 in Switzerland in a joint-venture with Swiss bookseller Orell Füssli.

Including independent booksellers who have joined the so-called “Partnermodell” – members are economically independent but have access to the company’s logistics, IT, growing non-books range and online shop – Thalia’s bookselling network in the three countries at present comprises more than 500 shops.