2023-09-02 12:24:54
According to a report in the daily newspaper “Der Standard”, the book wholesaler Medienlogistik Pichler-ÖBZ based in Wiener Neudorf (Lower Austria) will have to close at the end of the year. After the company went bankrupt in January and the acceptance of a restructuring plan in May, an investor was sought. But talks in the summer failed and now there is “unfortunately no convincing perspective for continued operation,” explained managing director Franz Lintner in “Standard”.
The insolvency of Austria’s second-largest book distributor in January caused a stir in the domestic publishing landscape. At the time, the publisher Nikolaus Brandstätter spoke of an “earthquake for the entire Austrian publishing and book trade landscape with unforeseeable consequences”. Around 80 publishers were affected, including four of the five major Austrian trade publishers.
In May, the restructuring plan for the company was accepted by the regional court in Wiener Neustadt and the creditors were awarded a quota of 20 percent. In the course of the restructuring process, the “school book” division was closed and the number of employees reduced to 29.
Even then, it was said that an investor or a strategic partner was necessary for the long-term continuation of the company, and that negotiations with interested parties could soon be finalized – a hope that was not fulfilled.
According to Lintner, after the departure of important customers, the book wholesaler looked after around 60 small and medium-sized publishers. That was not enough economically, as only 20 percent of the resources were used, he said in the “Standard”.
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