2024-08-20 15:55:29
On August 31, the bookseller Weltbild will close its business. A competitor could now step into the breach – and save a popular brand.
The bookseller Thalia has announced that it will take over assets of its insolvent competitor Weltbild. This includes the book, e-book and e-reader product division. A corresponding application has already been submitted to the Federal Cartel Office, reports “Wirtschaftswoche”.
Weltbild filed for bankruptcy on June 10th and recently announced that it would cease operations on August 31st. Insolvency administrator Christian Plail was unable to convince an investor because the costs were too high and the competition too great. A clearance sale is currently underway in the branches. You can read more about the bankruptcy here.
Thalia, together with Weltbild and other partners, has founded the Tolino brand, an alternative to Amazon’s Kindle products. The booksellers sell both e-readers and electronic books for the device. Thalia is likely to be interested in continuing to operate the brand.
“We have signaled our willingness to acquire assets of Weltbild GmbH & Co. KG,” a spokeswoman for Thalia told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. The Federal Cartel Office usually examines such merger procedures within a month. Three years ago, Thalia had already taken over ten branches from Weltbild in order to advance its digital strategy during the Corona pandemic.