Annual Report 2009/10 Excellence in Retailing - Douglas Holding

90 Divisions
Thalia · Books
Thalia demonstrates its local links with custom store designs, seen here in Goettingen.
While digitalization is bound to continue, the bookstores
remain the central pillar of the Thalia concept. All
in all, Thalia is planning to add more than 10 retail stores
to its network during the 2010/11 financial year. One impressive
curtain-raiser was the November 2010 opening
of the new multi-channel bookstore in the former
“Metropol” movie theater in Bonn. The standout architectural
features of this historical cinema were preserved
during the construction work, investing this Thalia bookstore
with a truly unique flair.
All in all, the Thalia Group is well positioned to master
the major challenges awaiting the book retailing industry.
The “OYO” eReader has created a promising bridge
between traditional and online bookselling. However,
whether they are working in fixed-location stores, online
sales or the Group’s Service Division, Thalia’s employees
are its guarantors of success. Every single day,
their knowledge and helpfulness enthuse our customers
for the comprehensive and contemporary Thalia ranges.
To maintain this momentum, Thalia attaches great importance
to training – with the main focuses on “Active
and Emotional Selling” and the various courses at the
“Thalia Academy,” which was launched in 2008. These
will enable Thalia to further extend its leading market
position as a multi-channel bookseller in German-speaking
Europe.
Inga Pokora
Deputy Store Manager,
Frankfurt
The Visual Miscellaneum
(David McCandless)
“David McCandless has a
wonderful job: as an information
designer. He illustrates
exactly what this entails in his
pictorial guide. So if you’re
looking for an entity relationship
diagram of the Middle
East, an atlas of the www or
a matrix of morality, this is
where you’ll find it!”