What Kello does

KELLO Könyvtárellátó Nonprofit Kft. is a Hungarian public-benefit nonprofit limited liability company founded in 1991 and headquartered in Budapest, with a central warehouse in Üllő. It operates as the designated national distributor of all textbooks and books published in Hungary, serving four primary customer segments: students and parents, 1st-12th grade schools, public and institutional libraries, and book publishers. Its founding charter obliges it to serve the cultural needs of society without profit or wealth acquisition objectives, and the company is recognized as a "Kiemelt Partner" (Key Partner) by the National Cultural Fund (NKA, Nemzeti Kulturális Alap).

The company's product surface spans a vertically integrated digital ecosystem: the KELLO Webáruház (webshop.kello.hu) for direct-to-consumer sales, the Tankönyvrendelés portal for school bulk textbook ordering, the Könyvtár Szakmai Weboldal (professional library portal) for registered partner institutions, the Online Tankönyv-Olvasgató e-book reader platform (ebook.kello.hu), and adjacent cultural and educational assets including the Könyvkultúra Magazin, the Pedig.hu and Modern Iskola teacher portals, and the BOOKR Kids Mesetár digital story collection. KELLO also publishes its own digital textbook lines, notably the financial literacy series "Iránytű a pénzügyekhez" and "Küldetések a pénz világában," and the "Deutsch mit Comics für die Schule" German language learning series. The technology foundation is a standard e-commerce web platform with dedicated sub-portals, no public API, and WCAG 2.1 Level AA accessibility compliance.

The business model is unit-priced retail and institutional e-commerce denominated in Hungarian Forint, with free domestic shipping on orders above 15,000 Ft and fulfillment via home delivery, MPL parcel lockers, PostaPont, and the KELLO Átvételi Pont physical pickup location. A binding price policy introduced on October 1, 2024 caps discounts on newly published books at 10% within 365 days of publication. Distribution is exclusively domestic to the Hungarian market. Revenue is not publicly disclosed; the company has 101-250 employees, no parent or subsidiary entities, no funding rounds, and no recorded M&A activity.

Name

Kello

Legal name

Könyvtárellátó Közhasznú Nonprofit Korlátolt Felelősségű Társaság

Website

https://kello.hu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

KELLO is a Hungarian public-benefit nonprofit founded in 1991 that serves as the designated national distributor of all textbooks and books published in Hungary. It operates an e-commerce web shop, school and library ordering portals, and an e-book reader platform serving students, parents, schools, libraries, and publishers across Hungary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Book Distribution and Library Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710), All Other Schools and Instruction (61169)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Instructional Delivery & Pedagogy (School-Led) (EDAJAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

K–12 Textbook Publishing (Core Curriculum) (MPAJABAA), Core Subject Textbooks (ELA, Math, Science, Social Studies) (EDAGAAAA)

Keywords

• Textbook distribution
• Educational book supply
• Library equipment services
• School book procurement
• Hungarian book publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Budapest

HQ country

Hungary

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Book and Textbook Sales: KELLO operates an e-commerce web shop selling textbooks, educational materials, novels, fiction, and general books to consumers, schools, and libraries. Orders are fulfilled through home delivery, postal points, parcel lockers, or personal pickup.
2. Educational Services for Schools and Libraries: Provides comprehensive equipment and supply services for schools and libraries, including distribution of all textbooks and books published in Hungary.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

KELLO (Könyvtárellátó Nonprofit Kft.) is a Hungarian public-benefit nonprofit that distributes all textbooks and books published in Hungary to schools, libraries, and individual consumers. It operates the KELLO Webáruház online bookstore, dedicated portals for schools, publishers, and libraries, a textbook ordering system, an online textbook reader, and a physical pickup point. The organization also provides complete equipment services for schools and libraries.

Product overview

KELLO (Könyvtárellátó Nonprofit Kft.) is Hungary's primary textbook and library supply nonprofit organization. The company operates a comprehensive digital ecosystem consisting of the KELLO Webáruház online bookstore as the core commercial platform, complemented by the Könyvtár Szakmai Weboldal professional library portal for registered partners, and multiple subject-specific educational portals including Pedig.hu and Modern Iskola. The product portfolio includes digital textbooks such as the financial literacy series 'Iránytű a pénzügyekhez' and 'Küldetések a pénz világában', the German language learning series 'Deutsch mit Comics für die Schule' with textbooks, workbooks, and digital supplementary materials, and the Könyvkultúra Magazin cultural magazine. KELLO also provides the Online Tankönyv-Olvasgató e-book reader platform, textbook ordering systems for schools, and physical pickup services through the KELLO Átvételi Pont. The organization distributes all textbooks and books published in Hungary while equipping schools and libraries with comprehensive resources.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• KELLO Webáruház (Online Bookstore)
• KELLO Átvételi Pont (Pickup Point) Physical pickup point service allowing customers to collect webshop orders in person at the KELLO premises, with free order collection available.
• Könyvtár Szakmai Weboldal (Library Professional Portal) Professional library portal providing specialized library services, book acquisition, and reading program resources exclusively for registered library partners.
• Tankönyvrendelés (Textbook Ordering System) Online textbook ordering portal for Hungarian schools, supporting mid-year textbook orders and religious education textbook procurement.
• Online Tankönyv-Olvasgató (E-book Platform) Digital reading platform providing online access to textbooks and workbooks as readable PDFs for students and educators, including financial literacy and German language learning titles.
• Könyvkultúra Magazin (Cultural Magazine) Online cultural magazine featuring book reviews, recommendations, and literary content to promote reading culture among the Hungarian public.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NKA (Nemzeti Kulturális Alap - National Cultural Fund)minorOthersKELLO is recognized as a Key Partner (Kiemelt Partner) by the National Cultural Fund, Hungary's primary cultural funding organization. This recognition indicates a working relationship in support of cultural distribution and reading promotion initiatives.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Scholastic Corporation: Scholastic is a major global children's book publisher and educational materials distributor to schools, comparable to KELLO in K-12 book distribution model and school channel focus.
• Oxford University Press Education: Oxford University Press is a global educational publisher with K-12 textbook programs, comparable to KELLO as a textbook publisher with school-delivered curriculum materials.
• Pearson Education: Pearson is one of the world's largest educational publishers and distributors, comparable to KELLO as a broad incumbent in K-12 textbook publishing and distribution but operating at global scale.
• McGraw-Hill Education: McGraw-Hill Education is a major US-based K-12 and higher-education textbook publisher and digital learning platform provider, comparable to KELLO in textbook publishing and distribution at scale.

Direct peers

• Moly.hu: Moly.hu is a major Hungarian literary community and book catalog portal, comparable to KELLO in the Hungarian book discovery and recommendation space, though less focused on transactional distribution.
• Bookline: Bookline is a leading Hungarian online bookstore offering textbooks, novels, and educational materials to consumers, providing direct comparable competition to KELLO's webshop in the Hungarian DTC book and textbook market.
• Alexandra Könyvesház: Alexandra is a historic Hungarian bookstore chain offering textbooks and general books through both retail locations and online channels, comparable to KELLO in Hungarian textbook and book distribution.
• Libri: Libri is one of Hungary's largest bookstore chains with both physical locations and a major online store, directly competing with KELLO's Webáruház in the general book retail and DTC consumer book market in Hungary.

Regional players

• Raabe Klett Kiadó: Raabe is a Hungarian educational publisher focused on pedagogical and curriculum content for schools and teachers, comparable to KELLO in serving Hungarian K-12 instructional content distribution channels.
• Cartographia: Cartographia is a Hungarian publisher and distributor specializing in educational cartography, atlases, and school learning aids, comparable to KELLO in distributing educational materials to Hungarian schools and consumers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kello