Media Orell Füssli feels the restraint of customers in book retailing

The Orell Füssli industrial and trading group sold only slightly more books in the first half of 2024 despite expanding its branch network. Orell Füssli Thalia Ltd, in which the group holds a 50 percent stake, generated sales of around 102 million Swiss francs.

For the Orell Füssli Group this represents a sales contribution of CHF 51.0 million to group sales of CHF 107.2 million, as the company announced on Friday. Book retailing thus grew by some 2.2%, which is roughly in line with the growth of the entire group (+2.1%).

The traditional Zurich-based company generated the remaining turnover primarily in security printing, where Swiss banknotes are also printed. The Zeiser industrial segment also contributed from other smaller business areas.

Branch network expanded

Orell Füssli Thalia attributes the slight growth in sales in the first half of the year to gains in market share due to the expansion of the branch network: Orell Füssli acquired the Rapunzel bookstore in Liestal and opened a new branch at Chur railroad station together with Schuler Bücher. A third branch was also opened in Aarau.

Overall, however, the book trade suffered from January to June as people spent less money on books due to inflation and the weak economy. In addition, the first half of the year is considered to be seasonally weaker anyway. This is mainly due to the fact that Christmas business, which is important for book retailing, falls in the second half of the year, as the company announced.

Another specific factor for Orell Füssli Thalia is that the publishers' teaching materials business is transacted in the third quarter. This area makes an important contribution to sales after the company made significant gains in this area: Orell Füssli has managed the two ETH Zurich sales outlets since 2023 and the group acquired the teaching materials publisher Hep in 2022.

Revival in the second half of the year

Book sales at Orell Füssli Thalia should therefore pick up again more significantly in the second half of the year due to seasonal factors. Orell Füssli expects a "perceptible" revival.

Orell Füssli Thalia is a joint venture between Orell Füssli Buchhandlungs AG and the German company Thalia Bücher AG. Each holds a 50 percent stake in the company. Sales are also shared equally.