Annual Report 2009/10 Excellence in Retailing - Douglas Holding

Austria’s first multi-channel bookstore: Thalia at the “Varena” shopping center in Vöcklabruck.
BOOKS, MEDIA AND MORE
The shadow of digitalization is looming large over
the bookselling industry, prompting major changes in
purchasing behavior. While sales at traditional booksellers
are stagnating in many places, online bookstores are
enjoying a boom. The Thalia Group has responded by
systematically developing its multi-channel strategy –
with the highlight to date being the launch of its own
eReader “OYO” in October 2010. However, the Group’s
key success factor remains the exceptionally helpful
5,000+ Thalia personnel who – by providing professional
advice on literature and communicating the exciting
potential of multi-channel bookselling – have successfully
infected customers with their enthusiasm.
Divisions
Thalia · Books
As a result, the Thalia Group once again defended
its leading position in the book retailing markets in German-speaking
Europe during the 2009/10 financial year:
sales were up by 10.5 percent to approximately EUR 906
million. Fully consolidated since December 2009, the online
bookseller buch.de internetstores AG contributed
an outstanding EUR 88 million to this figure. Turnover at
the 289 Thalia bookstores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland
remained steady at EUR 818 million.
Total sales in Germany increased by 9.7 percent to
almost EUR 690 million. Here too turnover of some EUR
70 million from the online store buch.de proved a key
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