Paperback Purchase

Today, Bonnierförlagen announced that it has acquired bookstore chain Pocket Shop from founder Mathias Engdahl. The chain has 15 stores in Sweden and one store each in Finland and Germany. Engdahl, who founded Pocket Shop in 1989, will become the CEO of the company, replacing current CEO Per Sjödell.

“We will continue to offer our current great selection of paperbacks in our bookstores just as we always have,” says Engdahl. What Bonnier provides is support and competence for the long-term, he says.

“We’ve been around for 23 years, but Bonnier has been around 200 years,” says Engdahl. “With so many changes in the industry within e-books and e-commerce, it can be difficult to know what we need to do. Bonnierförlagen offers the experience and know-how that will allow us to continue to meet these kinds of challenges we face for the future.”

In the shorter term, maintaining the quality people expect in Sweden is a high priority – and taking the next steps in new countries. “The biggest immediate challenge will be expanding into Finland and Germany, where we already have a toe in the door,” says Engdahl. “There’s a lot of opportunity in such a big market as Germany.”

But the future looks bright, says Engdahl. “Things look good for those working with paperback books when you remember that Jonas Bonnier was an editor with paperbacks at Albert Bonniers Förlag in the ’90s, and now he’s head of all of Bonnier.”