Montanus currently
| Montanus currently | |
|---|---|
| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | April 10, 1969 |
| Seat | Frankfurt / Main |
| Branch | Book trade |
Montanus aktuell was the first supraregional bookstore chain in Germany. Founded in 1969, Montanus currently has 45 branches with around 350 employees in 1979. Montanus has been affiliated with the traditional book retail chain Thalia since 2001 .
history
The assortment bookstore Montanus Aktuell GmbH was founded on April 10, 1969 by Hermann Montanus as a personally liable partner. The first Montanus aktuell branch opened in Munich at the end of June 1969 . In 1969, the year it was founded, the branch network was quickly expanded to include sales branches in Westerland , Heidelberg , Bonn , Solingen and Offenbach .
Montanus aktuell was the first supraregional German bookstore chain and in the founding years soon enjoyed “ cult status ” among its readers and customers. The main target group within the range of goods was formed by the younger class of buyers or topics from the current zeitgeist were served, socio-politically more left-wing and open to new topics. Montanus aktuell saw itself in the beginning as a kind of multimedia shop and information center. Word, image and sound in a media network, so to speak. The range orientation corresponded to the current zeitgeist and consisted of the product areas international press products, books, paperbacks, records and additional articles such as B. Poster.
The special thing about this chain of branches was, on the one hand, the previously unusual composition of the range and, on the other hand, the relaxed, informal atmosphere that prevailed in the shops. Self-service was part of the business principle and advice was only given on request. There was no bibliography or a book supply business. Here the customer was able to obtain extensive information on current topics and music styles without feeling pressured or compelled to buy. Fears of the threshold did not even arise and customer and employee met at eye level; the "you" was almost the standard form of address. Smoking was allowed in the branches and the majority of customers and employees appreciated this and actively noticed it.
Assortments
The range of books included topics that were difficult to find in other book departments. In addition to politically more left-wing titles from Marx to Engels or the little red Mao Bible , Wolfgang Leonhard “The Revolution dismisses its children” ( March publishing house ) or Rainer Langhans and Fritz Teufel's “Steal me” from Trikont publishing house , the reader found one wide range of topics of the current zeitgeist.
The women's movement found the relevant literature with titles such as Alice Schwarzer “The Little Difference” or books from the publishing house Frauenoffensive such as Anja Meulenbelt's “The shame is over” with special women's issues . Sex education took place with the literature of Günter Amendt " Sexfront " (March publishing house) or Bent H. Claesson "Sexualinformation for young people" ( publishing house New Criticism ), also the genre of eroticism was covered with corresponding literature from the Olympia Press publishing house, in addition to the books from William S. Burroughs "Naked Lunch" or Henry Miller "Sexus". The bestsellers of this time were titles like Carlos Castaneda's "The Teachings of Don Juan" or Charles Bukowski "Notes of an Outsider" or "Fuckmachine" and underground literature like "ACID" by Rygulla / Brinkmann , März Verlag .
Furthermore, generally understandable literature from the field of psychology such as Sigmund Freud “Traumdeutung” or Carl Gustav Jung “Das Ich” was very popular . Socially critical topics such as Günter Wallraff “13 undesirable reports”, Alexander Mitscherlich “The inhospitableness of our cities” or environmentally relevant results and theses from the study commissioned by the Club of Rome “The Limits to Growth” met with great interest.
In addition to the current bestsellers and new publications, there was also the self-proclaimed category at Montanus currently under the motto “Books you can't find otherwise”. Rarities were hidden behind this slogan , including a. English-language illustrated books on the subjects of art, film, countries, photography, eroticism. Songbooks with the original lyrics of the most popular bands of the 70s were also very popular. Special editions and inexpensive offers from remaining editions increased the attractiveness of the range in many ways.
The comic was covered competently. In addition to Asterix & Obelix , Tintin and Struppi , Lucky Luke , Peter-Torsten Schulz , Charles M. Schulz with “Die Peanuts”, there were underground comics in English such as Robert Crumb “Fritz the cat” and later Ralf König “SchwulComics” or Claire Bretécher “The Frustrated”, a grateful readership.
The paperback also played an important role in the assortment and was an affordable alternative for the young and student customers. Contemporary contemporary literature was shaped by authors such as; Hermann Hesse “Siddhartha”, Siegfried Lenz “German lesson”, Heinrich Böll “Group picture with lady”, Bertolt Brecht “Threepenny Opera”, but also Heinz G. Konsalik “Penal Battalion 999” and Johannes Mario Simmel “Dear Fatherland May Be Calm”. Science fiction, horror and fantasy novels became increasingly popular. Representative here are Robert A. Heinlein “Utopia 2003”, Edgar A. Poe “The Pendulum of Death”, JRR Tolkien “Lord of the Rings”, George Orwell “1984” Henry David Thoreau “Walden”. English paperbacks were also part of the paperbacks program. The subjects of non-fiction, thriller, fiction, crime and erotic were represented here.
The popular music trend was reflected in the record department. In addition to the current bands and performers of rock, soul and pop music, there were representatives of the music genres Hard Rock Deep Purple , Uriah Heep , Led Zeppelin , Black Sabbath , Country & Folk Johnny Cash , Joan Baez , Bob Dylan , Steeleye Span , Ougenweide , Zupfgeigenhansel . Political singers and songwriters Hannes Wader , Franz Josef Degenhardt , Reinhard Mey . Worldmusic Inti illimani , Trini Lopez , Flute de Pan or Deutschrock Guru Guru , Can , Ton Steine Scherben , in the record compartment. Lovers of jazz and classical music also found what they were looking for, only operas and operettas were looked for here in vain. Instead, the current music by artists such as Leonard Cohen or Udo Lindenberg was mostly played in the shops from morning to evening as background sound.
The press offer consisted of around 1600 listed international press products. The choice of topics was therefore unlimited and locally comparable with the range of well-stocked train station bookshops. Starting with the Bild to Vogue , the Vorwärts or the Geflügelrundschau. The competence was clearly in the lifestyle areas of the time such as fashion , living and special interest such as photography , sailing , and aviation . The political magazine in concrete terms , the satirical magazine pardon , the magazine Twen , Jasmin, the magazine for life for two, were also part of the range and should not be missing in any branch. Men's magazines for homosexuals like Him , women's magazines such as Emma were represented, as were erotic magazines such as Hustler or the St. Pauli-Nachrichten sex post . The international press offerings included leading daily newspapers and magazines from neighboring European countries and even beyond, including Pravda and Peking Rundschau .
The marginal range (non-book) consisted of trend items and changed at regular intervals. Irish advertising pub mirrors were offered, posters by Che Guevara or old English station clocks, photo cards by David Hamilton , graphic art prints, Mordillo puzzles , Marsupilami figures, light globes, Loriot Rummy cards and , depending on the season, a huge selection of calendars in every form: art -, picture, photo, humor and pocket calendars.
Mail order
In a regularly published catalog that was displayed in the branches and sent to existing mail order customers, books and records from remaining editions or special editions were offered at a relatively low price and new products were advertised. These could be ordered through your own mail order business or bought directly in the shop. The catalog and mail order business were discontinued after the central warehouse for books was closed in 1987.
General
The store furnishings of the Montanus branches were initially designed in the company colors of white and red. The furniture was kept white and the ceiling was painted bright red. The logo was white on a red background. The average store size of a Montanus branch was around 70–150 m².
The branches were initially stocked centrally. The sales outlets were regularly supplied with goods from the company's own central warehouse by the company's own transport service. In the period that followed, however, the employees responsible for product groups were also able to dispose of goods directly from the publishers and sound recording providers and thus respond to and respond to location-specific inquiries. The basic equipment of a Montanus branch was, however, also specified centrally for the book and record area in the form of a so-called product range listing in order to guarantee a range standard with the range that is currently typical for Montanus. The press, international daily newspapers and magazines reached the branches by direct delivery and via local wholesalers.
In April 1977 the Montanus workforce elected its first works council . Horst Georg Kutzleb chaired it.
In 1979 Montanus currently had a chain of 45 branches with 350 employees. The branch network was spread across the whole of Germany. At the time, the head office was in Frankfurt am Main .
takeover
On July 1, 1979, the company changed to Hussel Holding (75%) through takeover ; Constanze Verlag John Jahr KG still held 25%. The company's founder and former partner Hermann Montanus left the company and the company was converted into a GmbH . Peter Schaper was appointed sole managing director. The Montanus currently central departments were relocated to the Hussel Holding administration building in Hagen .
The appearance changed completely after the takeover by Hussel Holding (now Douglas Holding AG ). Now the house colors were yellow and black. The paperback sawtooth wall, an absolute novelty for the frontal presentation of paperbacks, found its way into the new and successively rebuilt "old" branches. The logo was changed for the first time in black on a yellow background.
The image of Montanus currently changed radically. The “left-wing” multimedia shop and meeting place for young people became the tabloid bookstore. Critics even spoke of the supermarket for books. This was certainly due to the now massively expanded range of books from the so-called modern antiquarian bookshop , special editions and remaining editions, which were stacked high on tables and pedestals or were offered in small vans outside the shop door.
The store layout was relaunched in 1983 and is now designed in the corporate colors gray, red and blue. The advertising message was now: "Montanus currently the exciting, stimulating, other current bookstore."
The tabloid bookstore Montanus aktuell now also organized readings, e.g. B. Günter Wallraff “You up there we down there” in the Hagen town hall and autograph sessions Peter-Torsten Schulz “Mach mal ne fly”, Uli Stein , Peter Ustinov u. v. a.
The range changed with the advent of new media carriers such as the compact disc . The record departments changed, the CD found its way into the range. Depending on the development of sales and the competitive situation on site, the product ranges were restructured and the areas that became available etc. a. used to expand the range of books and paperbacks. In cooperation with the Spielbrett Berlin company , an extensive range of games for adults has been added to almost all branches. Initial attempts to gain a foothold with a range of office supplies were initially not pursued after a test phase.
Montanus aktuell developed from a tabloid bookstore to a full-range supplier. In the meantime, the usual bookselling services such as bibliographing, book ordering service, competent advice, gift packaging, gift vouchers and a separate catalog for novelties and special editions have been offered in all branches. The Spiegel bestsellers and other key topics such as esotericism , comics , hobby , cinema and cooking were optically highlighted in special presentation walls.
The employees were continuously further qualified in external and in-house training courses and training measures for managers and trainees.
After reunification , Montanus opened the first branch in the new federal states in Günthersdorf (220 m²) in the Saale Park shopping center in February 1992 . Further sales outlets followed with Röhrsdorf in the Chemnitz Center in April 1993 and Magdeburg in November 1993. In Magdeburg , a new shop and advertising concept was implemented for the first time, which now set new standards.
The range of sound carriers at Montanus is currently losing further importance. In 1993, just eight of a total of 44 branches had sound storage departments. These were the locations in Flensburg , Fulda , Göttingen , Hagen , Hildesheim , Karlsruhe , Oldenburg , Remscheid .
fusion
On January 1st, 1994 Montanus merged with the university bookstore Phönix GmbH. The book trade chain now operated under the name Phönix-Montanus GmbH. At that time, the Montanus aktuell branch network consisted of 42 branches. Phönix was represented by 4 bookshops. As of December 31, 1994, the company had a total of 594 employees, including 41 trainees. The total turnover of Phönix-Montanus was 152.5 million DM.
In 1996 the Herder branches Poertgen-Herder in Münster and Herder in Freiburg were taken over.
The concept of the tabloid bookstore on central areas was no longer pursued. The future now lay in the large area. These bookstores operated under the name Phoenix. The company name Montanus aktuell remained visible in the existing branches for a while.
Merger
In 2001 it merged with the traditional book retail chain Thalia from Hamburg. Thalia has now become the umbrella brand and namesake for the bookselling group. In May 2002, 47 of the 57 branches were already named Thalia, with the exception of Montanus Erlangen , Osnabrück , Gießen , Munich, Günthersdorf, Phönix Bremen , Phönix Bielefeld , Greven Krefeld , Herder Freiburg and Poertgen-Herder Münster .
At the end of 2010, the book “The Montanus Chronicle - From Montanus Aktuell to Thalia 1969 to 2002” by the author Benno F. Schnitzler with the assistance of Horst Georg Kutzleb was published by Books on Demand . This book is not available through retailers.
The bookselling chain called Thalia is today one of the market leaders in the retail book trade in German-speaking countries. With 295 bookstores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Thalia achieved annual sales of EUR 934.5 million in the 2010/2011 financial year with 5274 employees.
Like the entire book retail trade, Thalia is also feeling the profound changes in the traditional book trade, which is being given a new structure: The traditionally printed book is being largely replaced by electronic "reading devices", the so-called e-book readers or tablet computers , which are increasingly being used Dimensions can be obtained from the classic retail bookstore. Online shops such as Amazon and third-party providers also compete with the traditional book trade .
literature
- Benno F. Schnitzler: The Montanus Chronicle. Catalog of the German National Library http://d-nb.info/1012545865
Individual evidence
- ↑ Clemens Mörmann: Everyone is talking about chain stores. In: The time. No. 3, September 25, 1970, p. 3.
- ^ Heidi Dürr: Booksellers in chains. In: Die Zeit No. 01, 1971.
- ↑ According to marketability. In: Der Spiegel. No. 14, 1971, pp. 180-182.
- ↑ montanus is currently making further progress in the wake of the Hussel successful course. In: Buchreport Nr. 23, 1981. P. 36
- ↑ The colors gray and blue are currently intended to identify montanus nationwide. In: Buchreport No. 07, 1984. pp. 32-33.
- ↑ We have not yet failed an apprentice exam. In: Buchreport No. 03, 1988. p. 14
- ↑ After a positive experience, preference was given to the shopping center on the green meadow again. In: Buchreport No. 18, 1993. P. 18
- ↑ Benno F.Schnitzler: The Montanus Chronicle. Editors Jürgen Könnecke, Michael Busch. Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt, 2010. p. 126
- ↑ Benno F.Schnitzler: The Montanus Chronicle. Editors Jürgen Könnecke, Michael Busch. Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt, 2010.
- ↑ Douglas Holding Annual Report, 2010–2011, p. 91.