DBH Deutsche Buch Handels GmbH & Co. KG
Encyclopedia
The DBH Deutsche Buch Handels GmbH & Co. KG (German Book Trading Inc. with sole general partner with a limited commercial partnership) based in Munich
competes for being the major booktrading company in Germany
with his rival Thalia which belongs to the Douglas Holding AG. The DBH was established in 2006 as a Holding and belongs at 50% to the Hugendubel Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG (Hugendubel Holding Inc.) and the Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GmbH
. The DBH arose from the longtime cooperation between these two companies as a joint venture. Shareholders of the Verlagsgruppe Weltbild are 14 dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany
and the Soldatenseelsorge Berlin
(religious welfare for soldiers).
The DBH stated a volume of 675 million Euro for the first accounting year (2006). The company manages about 465 branches of both of the proprietor companies with about 3500 employees (effective: 2006). In Germany
, Austria
and Switzerland
there are the subsidiaries Hugendubel
(34 branches), Weiland (33), Buch Habel (17), Schmorl und von Seefeld (2), Wohlthat'sche Buchhandlung (about 50), Weltbild/Weltbild Plus/Weltbild Best (about 260), Jokers Restseller (18), Weltbild! (12), A&M and AM! (35).
Since July 2008, the DBH owns 44 of the 89 book departments of the Karstadt group
. The remaining 45 departments were closed and the employees were moved to other departments.
Thalia tried the same but lost the competition for the partnership with Karstadt. The acquisition of the 44 departments was approved by the Federal Cartel Office (Germany) in April 2008. Eight further departments (in Kiel
, Leipzig
, Wiesbaden
, Frankfurt
and Munich) stayed unapproved for a while because of antitrust objections.
Since 2009, huge measures of restructuring were adopted in the group for reducing personnel costs. As a first step, it began with layoffs in the partner company of the DBH, the Weltbild Verlagsgruppe.
Since May 2009, more layoffs followed in the dependent Weltbild plus. Because there were no works council
s established, the abolishment of more than 320 posts could be accomplished unhindered and fast.
Since 30 June 2009, the back offices of Buch Habel (Darmstadt
) and the Wohlthat'sche Buchhandlung (Berlin) were closed. The administration of these companies moved completely to the central office of the DBH. Huge rounds of dismissals followed at Buch Habel, Hugendubel and Wohlthat .
At Wohlthat, the measure could be largely implemented unchecked and closed to the public. In Berlin and Potsdam, the local works council was able to delay and to arouse public interest supported by the trade union
Ver.di. Similar processes happened before at Buch Habel and Hugendubel. In November, 2009, the labour conflict started at Wohlthat.
In the end of 2009, the work councils in the DBH group established a Konzernbetriebsrat (i.e. a works council which is authorised to bargain local issues on trust level). This happened for expanding workers participation in the departments. The Konzernbetriebsrat is able to kick-start elections for works councils in those enterprises which have difficulties to manage this on their own. Besides this task, the local works councils (which have much more power than the Konzernbetriebsrat in their range but none beyond) shall get an efficient early warning system to be on notice of new plannings of the group management.
The DBH uses the same ERP system
in all of its dependents but didn't conduct centralised purchasing up to now. Other than the competitor Thalia, so far the single dependents keep their origin firm's names. On the managements admission, the dependents shall keep their company profile as well.
Like the other huge German bookstore chains (Thalia and Mayersche) the DBH uses the capacities of logistics and central warehouse of the German book wholesaler Libri.
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
competes for being the major booktrading company in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with his rival Thalia which belongs to the Douglas Holding AG. The DBH was established in 2006 as a Holding and belongs at 50% to the Hugendubel Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG (Hugendubel Holding Inc.) and the Verlagsgruppe Weltbild GmbH
Weltbild
The Verlagsgruppe Weltbild is a major German publisher and media retailer based in Augsburg. It is partner of the holding company DBH Deutsche Buch Handels GmbH & Co. KG and itself it is owned by the dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church of Germany...
. The DBH arose from the longtime cooperation between these two companies as a joint venture. Shareholders of the Verlagsgruppe Weltbild are 14 dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and the Soldatenseelsorge Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(religious welfare for soldiers).
The DBH stated a volume of 675 million Euro for the first accounting year (2006). The company manages about 465 branches of both of the proprietor companies with about 3500 employees (effective: 2006). In Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
there are the subsidiaries Hugendubel
Hugendubel
Hugendubel is, along with Thalia, one of two major book retailers in Germany. It was founded in 1893 by Heinrich Karl Gustav Hugendubel in Munich.- History :...
(34 branches), Weiland (33), Buch Habel (17), Schmorl und von Seefeld (2), Wohlthat'sche Buchhandlung (about 50), Weltbild/Weltbild Plus/Weltbild Best (about 260), Jokers Restseller (18), Weltbild! (12), A&M and AM! (35).
Since July 2008, the DBH owns 44 of the 89 book departments of the Karstadt group
Arcandor
Arcandor AG is a holding company located in Essen, Germany that oversees companies operating in the businesses of mail order and internet shopping, department stores and tourism services. It was created in 1999 through the merger of Karstadt Warenhaus AG, which was founded in 1920, and Quelle...
. The remaining 45 departments were closed and the employees were moved to other departments.
Thalia tried the same but lost the competition for the partnership with Karstadt. The acquisition of the 44 departments was approved by the Federal Cartel Office (Germany) in April 2008. Eight further departments (in Kiel
Kiel
Kiel is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 238,049 .Kiel is approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the north of Germany, the southeast of the Jutland peninsula, and the southwestern shore of the...
, Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden
Wiesbaden is a city in southwest Germany and the capital of the federal state of Hesse. It has about 275,400 inhabitants, plus approximately 10,000 United States citizens...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
and Munich) stayed unapproved for a while because of antitrust objections.
Since 2009, huge measures of restructuring were adopted in the group for reducing personnel costs. As a first step, it began with layoffs in the partner company of the DBH, the Weltbild Verlagsgruppe.
Since May 2009, more layoffs followed in the dependent Weltbild plus. Because there were no works council
Works council
A works council is a "shop-floor" organization representing workers, which functions as local/firm-level complement to national labour negotiations...
s established, the abolishment of more than 320 posts could be accomplished unhindered and fast.
Since 30 June 2009, the back offices of Buch Habel (Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation, prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat...
) and the Wohlthat'sche Buchhandlung (Berlin) were closed. The administration of these companies moved completely to the central office of the DBH. Huge rounds of dismissals followed at Buch Habel, Hugendubel and Wohlthat .
At Wohlthat, the measure could be largely implemented unchecked and closed to the public. In Berlin and Potsdam, the local works council was able to delay and to arouse public interest supported by the trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
Ver.di. Similar processes happened before at Buch Habel and Hugendubel. In November, 2009, the labour conflict started at Wohlthat.
In the end of 2009, the work councils in the DBH group established a Konzernbetriebsrat (i.e. a works council which is authorised to bargain local issues on trust level). This happened for expanding workers participation in the departments. The Konzernbetriebsrat is able to kick-start elections for works councils in those enterprises which have difficulties to manage this on their own. Besides this task, the local works councils (which have much more power than the Konzernbetriebsrat in their range but none beyond) shall get an efficient early warning system to be on notice of new plannings of the group management.
The DBH uses the same ERP system
Enterprise resource planning
Enterprise resource planning systems integrate internal and external management information across an entire organization, embracing finance/accounting, manufacturing, sales and service, customer relationship management, etc. ERP systems automate this activity with an integrated software application...
in all of its dependents but didn't conduct centralised purchasing up to now. Other than the competitor Thalia, so far the single dependents keep their origin firm's names. On the managements admission, the dependents shall keep their company profile as well.
Like the other huge German bookstore chains (Thalia and Mayersche) the DBH uses the capacities of logistics and central warehouse of the German book wholesaler Libri.