Investments during the 2010/11 fiscal year amounting to more than EUR 26 million were used to open 13 new bookstores, update numerous branch stores, and expand the online shops. One of the highlights of the new store openings was the launch of the Thalia bookstore in Bonn. The newest Thalia addition opened its doors in the former “Metropol” cinema in late 2010 and can pride itself in being one of the most beautiful bookstores in Germany. The online shop www.thalia.de was relaunched after being extensively redesigned with even more user-friendly features. A new service offered by “thalia.de” is an availability check that enables customers to immediately see if a certain book is available in a Thalia bookstore. Thus, the Thalia bookstores are consistently moving forward with their multi-channel strategy and linking their brick-and-mortar bookstores with their online business. Social media are also playing an ever increasing role. Facebook has become a particularly attractive venue for Thalia to connect with its many fans. Promotions posted on Facebook provide innovative incentives for customers to visit their local Thalia bookstores. Around half of all social media campaigns are linked to Thalia’s brick-and-mortar business. With its acquisition of textunes GmbH in August 2011, the Thalia Group has secured access to the burgeoning market geared to the target group of smart phone and tablet users. The Berlin based company is one of the leading specialists for cross-platform e-book apps.

United in their efforts: the qualified Thalia teams, shown here in the Thier Gallery in Dortmund.

Using digital technologies for reading is still in its infancy in Germany, but industry experts are assuming that electronic books will already comprise more than ten percent of sales on the German book market in 2013. And the Thalia Group is prepared for the digital revolution on the book market. Having launched the OYO e-reader in the fall of 2010, Thalia developed an e-bookstore and has already established itself as one of the leading providers of digital reading solutions. In the meantime, the Thalia e-bookstore has already become one of the largest in German-speaking countries. It has a total of about 300,000 titles, with more than 100,000 German language titles. Overall, just over 90 percent of all top titles and more than three quarters of all current bestsellers available at Thalia can be purchased as an e-book. Measured against total sales on the German e-book market, Thalia, including buch.de and textunes, is number one with 20 percent of all e-book sales.