Analysing the preliminary sales figures from the past 12 months, we take a closer look at nine bookselling markets in the central Europe 

The international bookselling markets underwent significant changes in 2021, impacted by the ongoing pandemic, subsequent sanitary restrictions and pandemic-induced challenges. As the first 2021 sales numbers roll in, we take a closer look at the Central European bookselling markets to see how the region fared over the past 12 months. 

For the purpose of this article, the Central European region includes the following countries: Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland (see Graphic 1 below). The bookselling markets in these countries have different characteristics, with some countries having a fixed book price markets (e.g. Austria, Germany, and Hungary), while others don’t (e.g. Czech Republic and Switzerland). During the course of the pandemic, Slovenian Government suspended the fixed book price regime until at least 30 April 2022, while at the same time the Polish Chamber of Books was hosting a series of industry debates aiming to introduce the law into their market.  

All of the markets analysed experienced some sort of lockdown measures during the course of 2021. In almost all cases, these movement restrictions resulted in an increase in online shopping. Nevertheless, while some national bookselling markets experienced growth (e.g. Austria, Germany, and Switzerland), other saw brick and mortar, and mainly independent, bookshops closing and their market shrinking (e.g. Czech Republic and Poland). 

What we can learn from 2021 figures? 

• Online strategy was crucial for driving the growth of book markets

Across the German-language bookselling markets, including Austria, Germany and the German-speaking Switzerland, the annual sales turnover for books grew (see Chart 1 below). As reported by the Börsenverein, the German Publishers and Booksellers Association, the turnover in 2021 increased by 3%, compared to 2020 numbers, across central sales channels. The bookselling market even grew in comparison with 2019, pre-pandemic year, by almost 1%. 

In Austria, the total sales in the book market increased by 4% in 2021, compared with 2020, and by 0.4%, compared by 2019. The Austrian Association of the Book Trade (Hauptverband des Österreichischen Buchhandels) noted the relative growth of the market in the past year is largely due to the trade’s uptake of online strategy. 

The German-speaking Swiss bookselling market shows a similar trend: for the third time in a row, annual sales in the Swiss German book trade have increased. In 2021, growth was at 6.5%. According to Tanja Messerli, Managing Director at the Swiss Booksellers and Publishers Association (SBVV), national lockdown contributed to increased online sales: “Almost every second book was sold online in 2021. Not only did the large booksellers benefit from this trend; due to the COVID-19 pandemic, small bookshops also expanded their online shops and many customers remained virtually loyal to their stores.”

• Physical retail sales drastically impacted 

In Germany, physical bookstore business was unable to make up the shortfall from the months of store closures in spring and finished with a 3% drop in revenues compared to 2020 and a staggering 11% drop compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019, as was reported in Börsenverein’s press release. 

In Austria, sales in stationary bookstores lost almost 2% compared to 2020. However, looking back to 2019, the drop in sales is much bigger, coming to -13%. According to Karl Puš, bookseller and former owner of Bestseller Bookshop, “shops have been closed by lockdown measures for 48 days in 2021. Especially the last lockdown in 2021 was very hard, as it lasted for three weeks and ended on 13 December. This means that shops were closed during the most important time of the year for the book trade – the holiday period. With online sales, posting services, home delivery and click and collect at the shop door, many of the smaller independent bookshops turned out to be more successful than the large chain stores, which were mostly located in shopping malls”.

In Poland, many brick and mortar bookshops closed in 2021. According to the National Book Store Database, over 60 bookshops closed in the past year in Poland. This follows the closure of another 100 store during 2020. There are still over 1,700 bookstores across the country, which has a population of 38 million. The Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage launched a program to help independent bookstores. As part of the "Certificate for Small Bookstores" project, almost PLN 3 million (€ 660,000) went to 106 bookstores. Most shops received grants of up to PLN 30,000 (€ 6,630).

While there aren’t any recent sales numbers available for the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia or Slovenia, the 2020 reports from these countries don’t look too encouraging for booksellers. Comparing sales numbers from 2019 to 2020, the total book sales numbers are down by 11% in Hungary. In Slovakia, available information points to a decrease in sales for physical bookstores by 8%, while internet sales increased by 10%.

The Czech Republic introduced a strict national lockdown from 27 December 2020 to 10 May 2021, when stores were allowed to re-open. Although customers returned to physical bookstores after the restrictions were lifted, the stores in most cases failed to replace the lost turnover. In 2020, bookstore turnover fell sharply, by 15-30%. This has drastically impacted small bookshops, and exacerbated the closing down of small, independent bookshops. There are about 600 brick and mortar bookstores in the Czech Republic, of which the largest are run by retail chains, which together own 263 stores. 

• Impact of paper shortage 

The paper shortage and increased shipping delays are continuing to wreak havoc on the bookselling industry. Many publishers have been forced to postpone the release of planned titles, which in turn impacted the number of available titles in bookshops during the holiday period. Crucially, the paper shortage is also having an impact on book prices.  

What is on the horizon for 2022

During the 2020 Slovenian Book Fair, book trade experts dived into the post-pandemic future, exploring what the trade can learn from the pandemic. Many of the topics discussed remain crucial for the bookselling market going forward, including potential weaker customer purchasing power, increased market share of audiobooks, need to develop new distribution channels to reach new customers and supporting the increased digitization of the book market. 

American novelist Douglas Kennedy spoke about the importance of independent bookstores for improving education outcomes for children and adults alike in a recent interview with ActuaLitté.

SLF press release following bookstore protests in France.

"In uncertain times, few spaces feel more comforting than a bookshop. It feels especially painful that during this global pandemic, bookshops – at least physically – have become increasingly out of bounds." Clare Thorpe explores how booksellers are dealing with COVID-19 outbreak

Many consumers don't rush to buy books online; they simply choose other activities instead of reading, write Georg Götz, Daniel Herold, Jan Thomas Schäfer and Phil-Adrian Klotz  

Tora Åsling, EIBF’s Policy Assistant, spent three days at Red Lion Books in Colchester, UK, to learn about the practical sides of bookselling from the bookshop manager, Jo Coldwell, and colleagues. As part of EIBF’s training, all staff members will spend time in a bookshop of the EIBF network to get first-hand insight into the bookselling reality and be better equipped to represent booksellers’ interests. Read Tora’s impressions from those eventful and rewarding February days and the lessons she took back with her to Brussels.

As I walked into Red Lion Books for the first time, I drew a breath and smiled at the familiar smell and sight that hit me.

“It smells like books,” I said as my eyes traced the rows upon rows of colourful rectangles neatly stacked on the dark brown bookshelves stretching all the way to the back of the shop.

“Anyone who comes in here and says that never buys any books,” Jo, the manager of Red Lion Books, replied jokingly.

That morning we had walked through a foggy Colchester to get to Red Lion Books, which is a small, family-owned, independent bookshop, that opened its doors right on the city’s main shopping street in 1978.

Since I had never worked in a bookshop before this training, I had no idea what to expect from these three days I was to spend in the bookshop with Jo. As I walked next to Jo who pointed out the city's highlights that were hardly visible behind the thick fog, I felt as if the weather matched my anticipation: it was like the city was waiting for the right moment to reveal itself, just like the moments before the curtains are drawn at the start of a theatre play.

In the bookshop, my first task was to dust the books and the bookshelves.

“This is such fun and a great way to do inventory and get a feel for the books in your shop,” Jo told me as she gave me a yellow rag and told me to go dust the shelves with my favourite genre.

I hesitantly took the old rag and made my way to the fiction section. And then I lost myself in the books.

The next time I looked at the time it was 12.30pm and three hours had passed in what felt like the blink of an eye. I never had that much fun dusting before in my life. This is especially true since I’m allergic to dust. (I know, I know, being allergic both to dust and cats, I am perhaps not ideally built to be a bookseller…) But there’s something about books, the way the mesmerising covers and titles draw you in and make you lose track of reality.

What brings you back to reality, though, are the customers. In less than twenty minutes after arriving at the shop, the morning’s mist had vanished and as a few tentative sunrays entered the shop – so did the customers.

They came in all shapes and sizes; old, young, and everything in between. Some were talkative, others were quiet. Most of them walked in on two legs, but a few four-legged friends also stopped by. Two or three mums came in to look for their daughter who had gotten lost in the fantasy or YA section downstairs.

What really made an impression on me was how well Jo and her colleagues, Polly, Regina, Jamie, and Margaret, know their customers. Every other person walking into the shop they greeted by name. They also knew the names of their partners or children, and remembered what books they bought as Christmas gifts.

During my time at Red Lion Books, I saw Jo and her colleagues engaging with all their customers, from inviting them to join one of their many book clubs (one is the biggest in the country, gathering more than 100 participants every month) to asking them to pose with books that match their outfits for the bookshop’s Instagram with the hashtag #booksandclothesatredlionbooks.

I was fascinated to see with my own eyes what I, through my job at EIBF, know is true and try convey every day: a bookshop is a community hub and a veritable pillar of society. The shop itself connects people, and its activities, such as events and book clubs, is not only beneficial to the bookshop, but also to other local artists, authors, and businesses who display their works or provide venues and delicious food for the events. When a bookshop thrives, so do the city’s other local businesses.

In conclusion, my time at Red Lion Books was eventful, intense, surprising, and heartfelt. I find it very valuable that I was able to see, first-hand, the practical side of bookselling; all of these things, like customer engagement, ordering and receiving books, meeting publisher reps, returning books and managing the stock, which I knew about in theory but had never seen in reality.

I’ll remember Colchester through its people, who are as diverse as the weather was during my three-day stay in the city, or the 20.000 titles that can be found in Red Lion Books.

In the end, I proved Jo wrong – I bought not only one, but three books before the end of my training at Red Lion Books.

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If you want to know more about Red Lion Books and bookshop manager Jo Coldwell, have a listen to the latest episode of our podcast series, Let's talk bookselling!, named "Building an online presence as an independent bookshop". Find it here. 

Get in touch with Red Lion Books via their website, Twitter or Instagram.