German sales down 2% in 2017

German trade paper buchreport has reported sales were down for the German book industry in 2017, with value dropping two percent compared to 2016, reports the Bookseller.

Christmas sales in the month of December were also down 4.4% on 2016, with only four of the 12 months delivering growth year on year. Sales were strongest in April (+7%) and May (+6.4%), with February (-7.8%) and March (-9.1%) performing the worst.

Brick-and-mortar bookshops made up over 50% of market share, but sales in the channel declined more significantly than the overall market: down 3.3% by value and 5.3% by volume. The average selling price in 2017 increased by 1.7%.

Category: International news