WSJ link:
http://online.wsj.com/news/article_e...MDAwMjEwNDIyWj
Quote:
German media conglomerate Bertelsmann SE announced earlier this month it would close its bookselling business in its German-speaking markets, after years of declining sales.
The company's retail locations as well as the online store, branded under the "Der Club" label, will cease operations in Germany, Austria and Switzerland by the end of 2015, spelling the end to almost all of Bertelsmann's remaining bookselling activities.
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Quote:
The first retail store opened in 1964 and they then expanded across Germany. Meanwhile, the book-club business grew across Europe and North America, offering book subscriptions at a discount by signing readers up for bulk purchases.
By 1992, there were more than 300 stores in Germany alone and more than seven million members enrolled in the Bertelsmann book club. Today, only 52 locations remain and sales have fallen sharply, down to less than €100 million, or roughly $136 million, from a peak of €700 million in the mid-1990s.
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Quote:
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With the rise of the Internet, German book-buying habits have sharply changed over the past decade. Last year, some €1.6 billion of books—16.3% of all books sold—were sold via the Internet. About 70% of online and mail-ordered printed and digital books are sold via Amazon.com Inc., according to industry data.
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All the german Amazon angst is over eleven percent market share?!!
Quote:
Since the 1960s, Bertelsmann has diversified into other media channels, buying and then selling stakes in music ventures like Sony Music as well as other joint ventures like an ill-fated deal with AOL Inc. in the 1990s.
The company has also acquired assets such as the German magazine publisher Gruner & Jahr, German television stations under RTL Group, RTL.BT +0.37% and the U.S. book publisher Random House, all areas where the company continues to look for growth.
"Bertelsmann has come a long way from bookselling," said Bettina Deuscher, a media analyst at Landesbank Baden-Wuerttemberg. "The bulk of its revenues today come from TV, publishing and business services.
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More at the source...
(Might expire)