Weltbild closes all stores in Switzerland with immediate effect

Weltbild, the book retail chain with a history stretching back almost 90 years, has gone bankrupt. All Swiss branches will be closed with immediate effect. Most recently it was said that the insolvency of the German parent company would have no impact.

This article was last comprehensively updated at 19:19.

Weltbild Germany already announced its closure last week. Now all Swiss branches are also closing, as “Züritoday” reports. The portal refers to a letter from the Swiss managing director Anatol Fussi to the employees. The traditional bookshop had to file for bankruptcy on Wednesday.

Fussi had to deliver “very difficult and sad news”, he wrote. The effects of the bankruptcy in Germany have now also become “insurmountable” at the Swiss headquarters in Wangen near Olten. Every effort has been made to avert the end.

The closure is apparently immediate: all 24 branches in Switzerland are closing with immediate effect. The doors will remain closed from Thursday.

No August wages for employees

The employees of the bookstore chain with a history stretching back almost 90 years have been made redundant with immediate effect and should contact the RAV. “Unfortunately, we will no longer be able to pay the August wages,” writes Fussi. The outstanding wage claims can therefore be claimed retrospectively via the RAV or the bankruptcy office.

It is not known exactly how many employees are affected by the sudden measure. Weltbild employed around 200 people in Switzerland in 2018.

Swiss part was profitable

The bankruptcy is all the more regrettable because the Swiss subsidiary had always been “a successful and profitable part” of the Weltbild Group, Weltbild Switzerland writes in the communiqué.

However, dependencies on the German parent company and the rapid escalation of the situation in Germany have now left no other option but to file for bankruptcy.

E-book customers could soon lose purchases

Weltbild confirms the bankruptcy announcement on its website. In addition, all customers who have purchased e-books, audiobook downloads or a tolino e-reader are being asked to link their account to an alternative tolino book retail partner.

Otherwise, they run the risk of no longer being able to access the content they have purchased. They must proceed quickly: Customers only have until August 31 to make the switch.

No more support from Germany

The reason for this is the insolvency of the German parent company. This will now be finally liquidated at the beginning of September. The high costs in the operating business, particularly in the areas of IT and marketing, had made it impossible to continue the German parent company profitably in the face of strong competitive pressure.

However, with the rapid demise of the parent company, the systems required for continued operations in Switzerland are no longer available. Similarly, no further services could be obtained from the parent company. “Without these prerequisites, which were still in prospect until recently”, the company would no longer be able to realign itself independently in the coming months. This is all the more true because talks with existing and potential investors have not borne fruit.

In June, it was reported that the insolvency of the German parent company would have no consequences and that business would continue to run smoothly. According to the statements made at the time, Weltbild Switzerland’s processes were set up in independent structures parallel to the processes in Germany.