Lehmanns Media
Lehmanns Media is a Cologne-based specialist bookseller (est. 1980) offering medical, veterinary, scientific, and legal books, eBooks, audiobooks, journals, and medical equipment to professionals, students, and institutions across 15 German retail stores and dedicated B2B portals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1980
- HeadquartersCologne, Germany
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Lehmanns Media does
Lehmanns Media GmbH is a Cologne-based specialist bookseller founded in 1980 (operating for over 40 years), serving primarily medical, veterinary, scientific, and legal professionals and students across Germany. The company operates an omnichannel model combining 15 physical retail stores located in major German university and medical hubs (including Munich, Berlin, Dresden, Hannover, Heidelberg, and Regensburg) with a comprehensive e-commerce storefront at lehmanns.de and free shipping within Germany. Its catalog spans physical books, eBooks (over 2 million titles via the tolino eReader ecosystem, also accessible through Thalia), audiobooks, and a journal/database subscription service providing access to over 30,000 national and international print and online journals and newspapers.
The company operates an in-house publishing imprint (Lehmanns Media Verlag) producing specialist titles in medicine, veterinary medicine, natural sciences, law, humanities, and select fiction/non-fiction, and runs a Medshop for medical equipment (stethoscopes, diagnostic instruments, anatomical models, practice clothing). A dedicated B2B layer serves institutional customers through specialized portals — lehmannsbib.de for libraries, lehmannspro.de for hospitals, law firms, accounting firms, and the public sector, size.lehmanns.de for journal subscriptions, and lehmannsoa.de for open access services — with custom procurement workflows and billing. Marketing and customer engagement run through over 100 topic newsletters, Facebook, conference and congress presence (DIVI 2026, AGMB 2026), gift vouchers, and the PremiumCard loyalty program (10 points per euro spent, redeemable for rewards).
Commercially, Lehmanns generates revenue through one-time sales of physical books and eBooks, recurring journal/database and institutional subscriptions, hardware sales via Medshop, licensing and royalties from its publishing imprint, and freemium loyalty mechanics. The company is privately held as a GmbH with no disclosed parent, no venture or institutional funding rounds in the input data, and no public listing; ownership is described as independent. Headcount is in the 251–500 range. No AI/ML capabilities, no proprietary technology platform beyond standard e-commerce and tolino integration, and no patents or regulatory actions are disclosed.
Lehmanns Media firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Lehmanns Media
- Legal name
- Lehmanns Media GmbH
- Website
- https://lehmanns.de
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1980
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- Lehmanns Media is a Cologne-based specialist bookseller (est. 1980) offering medical, veterinary, scientific, and legal books, eBooks, audiobooks, journals, and medical equipment to professionals, students, and institutions across 15 German retail stores and dedicated B2B portals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Lehmanns Media industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Specialist Book Retail
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130), Periodical Publishers (513120), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)
- akta.pro primary industry
- E-book Subscription & Bundling Services (MPAJAMAB)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership) (MPAJAMAD)
Keywords
Where Lehmanns Media is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cologne
- HQ country
- Germany
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices7 records
Markets served
Lehmanns Media business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Retail Book Sales: Physical and digital sales of specialist books across multiple categories including medicine, veterinary medicine, psychology, law, natural sciences, and literature
- eBook Sales: Digital sales of over 2 million eBooks through tolino integration
- Medical Equipment (Medshop): Sales of medical equipment including stethoscopes, diagnostic instruments, clothing, and anatomical models for medical professionals and students
- B2B Services: Institutional sales to libraries, hospitals, law firms, companies, and public sector through dedicated B2B portals (lehmannsbib.de, lehmannspro.de)
- Publishing (Lehmanns Media Verlag): Own publishing program covering medicine, veterinary medicine, natural sciences, law, humanities, and fiction
- Journal/Database Subscriptions: Access to over 30,000 national and international print and online journals and newspapers through size.lehmanns.de portal
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | General Retail Pricing |
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | PremiumCard Loyalty Program |
| Subscription | Annual | B2B Institutional Accounts |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels7 records
Marketing channels6 records
Lehmanns Media product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Lehmanns Media is a German specialist bookseller and publisher operating since 1980, selling physical and digital books, eBooks, audiobooks, journals/databases, and medical equipment focused on medical, veterinary, legal, and scientific subjects. The company combines an online e-commerce platform with 15 physical retail stores across Germany and dedicated B2B services for institutional customers such as libraries, hospitals, law firms, and public-sector organizations. It also operates an in-house publishing imprint (Lehmanns Media Verlag) and a journal/database subscription service with over 30,000 titles.
Product overview
Lehmanns Media operates a multi-format specialist bookselling and publishing platform, offering a unified catalog across physical books, eBooks, and audiobooks alongside specialized B2B services. The core offering consists of Bücher (physical/digital books), eBooks (via tolino integration offering 2M+ titles), Hörbücher (audiobooks), and Zeitschriften/Datenbanken (30,000+ journals and databases). Adjacent offerings include Medshop (medical equipment), the Lehmanns Media Verlag (in-house publishing), B2B-Services for institutions (libraries, hospitals, law firms), and loyalty (PremiumCard) and subscription programs. The company serves medical professionals, students, and general readers across 15 physical store locations in Germany.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Lehmanns Media Verlag: Publishing division producing medical, veterinary, scientific, and educational texts
- Medshop
- PremiumCard
Quantifiable outcome
- Free shipping within Germany on all orders
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Lehmanns Media
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Lehmanns Media technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
Feature2 records
Lehmanns Media partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- DIVI (Deutsche Interdisziplinäre Vereinigung für Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin)coreConference presence at DIVI 2026 Congress (December 2-4, 2026 in Hamburg). Lehmanns Media operates a stand at the congress offering relevant medical literature and journals. Stand managed by Lehmanns Media München.
- AGMB (Arbeitsgemeinschaft medizinischer Bibliotheken)coreConference presence at AGMB Jahrestagung 2026 (September 3-4, 2026 in Oldenburg). Lehmanns Media participates with a stand offering library-focused literature and services.
- ADAC LuftrettungminorEndorsement partnership for 'Fälle Luftrettung' textbook. ADAC Luftrettung is listed as recommending the air rescue case studies book published by Urban & Fischer/Elsevier.
- ÖAMTC FlugrettungminorEndorsement partnership for 'Fälle Luftrettung' textbook. Austrian automobile club's air rescue service recommends the air rescue case studies.
- Schweizerische Rettungsflugwacht RegaminorEndorsement partnership for 'Fälle Luftrettung' textbook. Swiss air rescue service recommends the air rescue case studies.
- HELI Flugrettung SüdtirolminorEndorsement partnership for 'Fälle Luftrettung' textbook. South Tyrol air rescue service recommends the air rescue case studies.
- European HEMS & Air Ambulance Committee (EHAC)minorEndorsement partnership for 'Fälle Luftrettung' textbook. European professional organization recommends the air rescue case studies.
- DRK BergwachtminorEndorsement partnership for 'Fälle Luftrettung' textbook. German Red Cross mountain rescue service recommends the air rescue case studies.
- ARS Alpine Rettung SchweizminorEndorsement partnership for 'Fälle Luftrettung' textbook. Swiss Alpine Rescue recommends the air rescue case studies.
- tolinocoreIntegration partnership for eBook distribution. Lehmanns.de offers over 2 million eBooks through the tolino platform, allowing customers to read on tablets and smartphones via tolino apps and devices. tolino is a major German eBook ecosystem also available at Thalia.
- Trusted ShopsminorCustomer review and trust seal provider for e-commerce credibility. TrustedShops certification X8072B5D561B0645119C591222C2884C9 provides buyer protection and review badges.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Lehmanns Media competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Thalia: Germany's largest bookstore chain, operating omnichannel retail across physical stores and thalia.de. Directly comparable to Lehmanns Media — same specialist + general book mix, same tolino eBook partnership, overlapping medical/academic and institutional buyer overlap.
- Schweitzer Fachinformation: German specialist book and journal supplier focused on law, economics and academic libraries, with deep B2B institutional procurement capabilities. Closest direct competitor to Lehmanns' lehmannsbib.de / lehmannspro.de B2B portals and the 30,000+ journal subscription service.
- Hugendubel: Major German bookstore chain combining physical retail with a large online platform. Comparable to Lehmanns on the omnichannel general + specialist book side and competes for the same German medical-student, professional and gift buyer.
- Mayersche Buchhandlung: Family-owned German bookstore chain with both physical and online presence. Directly comparable on omnichannel book retailing in Germany and overlapping with Lehmanns on the academic and general customer segments.
Broad incumbents
- Amazon Germany (Amazon.de): The dominant digital-first book, eBook and journal retailer in Germany with deep logistics and Kindle ecosystem. Competes with Lehmanns for every consumer and increasingly for institutional buyers, but at vastly greater scale and with a different cost structure.
- Weltbild (Verlag & Versand): Large German general-interest book and media retailer (online plus catalogue heritage). Overlaps with Lehmanns on the consumer general-book, gift-voucher and audiobook SKUs but lacks Lehmanns' specialist academic depth.
- Springer Nature: One of the world's largest academic and scientific publishers, including the Springer book programme and the SpringerLink journal platform. Competes with the Lehmanns Media Verlag on publishing and with size.lehmanns.de for institutional journal spend.
- Elsevier: Global academic publisher and owner of ScienceDirect, ClinicalKey and Urban & Fischer (a key German medical imprint whose titles appear in Lehmanns' catalogue). Competes with Lehmanns at both the publishing and journal-subscription layers.
- Pearson: Global publishing and education company spanning higher-ed textbooks, professional titles and assessment. Comparable to Lehmanns' academic, language-learning and examination-preparation book categories, and competes for institutional library budgets.
Others
- Tolino Media (Deutsche Telekom / Thalia consortium): Operator of the tolino eBook ecosystem that Lehmanns relies on for digital distribution of 2M+ titles. Functions as a platform partner and partial channel competitor, defining the rules of digital book access for the German specialist retailer.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Lehmanns Media social profiles
Digital presenceLehmanns Media financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Lehmanns Media leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Lehmanns Media funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Lehmanns Media M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments1 record
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Lehmanns Media
What does Lehmanns Media do?
Lehmanns Media is a German specialist bookseller and publisher operating since 1980, selling physical and digital books, eBooks, audiobooks, journals/databases, and medical equipment focused on medical, veterinary, legal, and scientific subjects. The company combines an online e-commerce platform with 15 physical retail stores across Germany and dedicated B2B services for institutional customers such as libraries, hospitals, law firms, and public-sector organizations. It also operates an in-house publishing imprint (Lehmanns Media Verlag) and a journal/database subscription service with over 30,000 titles.
Is Lehmanns Media a public or private company?
Lehmanns Media is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Lehmanns Media founded?
Lehmanns Media was founded in 1980. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is Lehmanns Media based?
Lehmanns Media is headquartered in Cologne, Germany, in the Europe region.
How does Lehmanns Media make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Retail Book Sales are the primary driver. The others are eBook Sales, medical Equipment (Medshop), B2B Services, publishing (Lehmanns Media Verlag) and journal/Database Subscriptions.
Who are Lehmanns Media's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Thalia, Schweitzer Fachinformation, Hugendubel and Mayersche Buchhandlung. Broad incumbents are Amazon Germany (Amazon.de), Weltbild (Verlag & Versand), Springer Nature, Elsevier and Pearson. Tolino Media (Deutsche Telekom / Thalia consortium) is listed as an others.
Does Lehmanns Media have an API?
No public API is recorded for Lehmanns Media.
What industry is Lehmanns Media in?
Lehmanns Media's product category is Specialist Book Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAMAB, E-book Subscription & Bundling Services, with a secondary code of MPAJAMAD, Digital Magazine & Newspaper Subscription Platforms (Paywalls, Membership). Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.