Thalia stores to be renamed Orell Füssli

The date for the renaming was announced by Coralie Klaus Boeker, Head of Marketing and Communications at Orell Füssli Thalia, in an interview in the April issue of Schweizer Buchhandel magazine. The company already confirmed media reports at the end of the year that the Thalia name would disappear. The brand presence online is also to be unified: Thalia.ch and Books.ch will merge to form Orellfüssli.ch.

Orell Füssli as an umbrella brand

The renaming is intended to strengthen the Orell Füssli brand. This is the best-known brand in the portfolio, far stronger than Thalia, said Klaus Boeker, explaining the move. Orell Füssli is a traditional Swiss bookstore and will celebrate its 500th anniversary in 2019. That is a strong message on which to build, he said. In addition to all Thalia stores, Meissner and Wirz in Aarau will also be converted into Orell Füssli, according to the marketing chief. At Stauffacher in Berne, Rösslitor in St. Gallen and all ZAP stores in Valais, however, the names will be retained, as these are strongly anchored locally.

Problem child book trade

Just three years ago, the Swiss banknote printing and bookselling group Orell Füssli and the German bookselling chain Thalia merged their book business in Switzerland (Werbewoche.ch reported). They created the joint venture Orell Füssli Thalia, in which Orell Füssli and Thalia each hold a 50% stake. It was already announced at the time that the Thalia name was to disappear from Swiss book retailing (Werbewoche.ch reported).

Book retailing, however, is considered a problem child at Orell Füssli. Sales fell by 11% to CHF 98.8 million last year. Proportionate operating earnings (EBIT) amounted to CHF 1.8 million, compared with CHF 3.1 million in 2014. The division is undergoing restructuring. In addition to the renaming, the aim is to increase sourcing of goods from abroad, renegotiate purchasing arrangements and increase profitability through a transformation program. In addition, the Group is still looking for a new head for the book trade. Michele Bomio left the department at the end of the year, with finance chief Pascal Schneebeli stepping in for him ad interim. (SDA/hae)