Orell Füssli and Thalia merge book retailing business in Switzerland

The book retailing activities of Orell Füssli OF and Thalia are to be merged to form a new company in which the two partners will each hold a 50% stake. With the joint venture, Thalia and Orell Füssli intend to jointly master the major challenges in the Swiss book market, according to an OF release. The result will be a bookselling company with a presence in large parts of German-speaking Switzerland, well-stocked stores managed by competent employees and a strong Internet business.

Activities in the digital sector are to be bundled. The aim is to simplify and harmonize the various online presences so that a Swiss alternative can be offered to international providers, the statement added. Those responsible at Thalia and Orell Füssli are convinced that this new Swiss bookselling company has the best prerequisites to survive in the rapidly changing book market in the long term.

As Orell Füssli CEO Michel Kunz said in a conference call on Thursday, according to SDA, the reason for the merger of the two companies is primarily the increasing migration of customers to the Internet. This is because it is not only online provider Amazon that has successively conquered the German-speaking market in recent years; Apple and Google also want to market more and more digital content. "We want to join forces, especially on the Internet," Kunz continued, according to SDA.

Staff reductions

However, the merger of the bookstore chains will also have consequences for personnel. As Orell Füssli CEO Michel Kunz said in the conference call on Thursday, 40 to 50 jobs are likely to be cut over the next year and a half. Synergies would be found in logistics, marketing and IT.

According to SDA, the Syndicom union is very surprised about the merger. Vice President Danièle Lenzin criticized that the staff representatives had not been informed in advance. She expressed concern about the impact of the merger on employees. In the event of redundancies, the staff would be supported accordingly.

But something else could also change for the employees: While Orell Füssli maintains a social partnership, there is no collective labor agreement (CLA) at Thalia. In addition, the wage level at Thalia is also lower. According to SDA, Michel Kunz and Thalia Vice President Jürg Bodenmann disputed this in the telephone conference: a rough analysis of the employment conditions had not revealed any major differences between the two companies. The CLA of Orell Füssli, for example, regulates minimum wages, Kunz said. "Thalia also adheres to these."

Weko decides on merger

However, the merger of the bookselling businesses still has to be approved by the Swiss Federal Competition Commission Weko: The transaction is subject to notification, Weko spokesman Patrik Ducrey told SDA. The Weko has one month after the official notification of the takeover to conduct a preliminary review. If there are indications that the merger could lead to a dominant position of the company, the authority has another four months for an in-depth examination.