Germany’s largest bookstore chain Thalia is allowed to acquire assets of the insolvent bookstore Weltbild. The Federal Cartel Office has granted the approval, according to a statement from the competition authority. The decisive factor was “that with Amazon there is a significantly larger competitor both in the online trade in printed books and in the e-book sector,” said President Andreas Mundt.
The company Thalia wants to take over customer relationships from the Weltbild online shop and the Tolino brand e-readers sold by Weltbild, as well as the Weltbild brands and domains. The retail stores are not involved.
“Thalia has a significant market position in the book trade and is also a relevant force in e-books through the Tolino platform. We have therefore taken a close look at the acquisition of customer data and brands from Weltbild,” said Mundt. Customers have sufficient alternatives available to them in the form of independent booksellers, other bookstore chains and online retailers.
Tolino was launched in 2013 by Telekom and major German booksellers – including Thalia and Weltbild. The aim was to be able to present a competitive offering on the growing e-book market, not least against Amazon’s Kindle.
It was only recently announced that the insolvent online bookseller Weltbild would cease operations at the end of August. 14 branches were affected. The 440 employees will receive their notices in September, it was announced. The company filed for insolvency at the Augsburg District Court in June. Subsequently, no investors were found who wanted to take over the business.
© dpa-infocom, dpa:240916-930-233913/1
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