What Ullstein Buchverlage does

Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH is a privately held German trade publishing house headquartered in Berlin, founded in 1877 and operating under the ullstein.de domain. The company publishes a broad portfolio of adult fiction and non-fiction titles in German, with a catalog spanning literature, entertainment/thrillers, non-fiction (Sachbücher), New Adult, and young adult (Jugendbuch) categories. It runs multiple imprints — Ullstein Buchverlag as the main imprint, Forever for New Adult fiction, and a dedicated Jugendbuch program — and maintains a roster of high-profile international and German-language authors including Jo Nesbø, Sally Rooney, Camilla Läckberg, Hanya Yanagihara, Nele Neuhaus, Marc-Uwe Kling, and Giulia Enders. Beyond core book publishing, the company offers ancillary services including Foreign Rights licensing, Corporate Publishing, and a Blogger program.

The business operates a dual B2C/B2B go-to-market model. Direct-to-consumer sales are executed through the ullstein.de e-commerce storefront, which supports pre-orders 30 days before release and free shipping within Germany for orders over €9. Hardcover titles are priced at €20–€34, paperbacks at €12.99–€18.99, and signed editions command a premium (€18.99). Wholesale distribution to bookstores and retail chains across the DACH region (Germany, Austria, German-speaking Switzerland) is supported by a dedicated B2B Handelsportal (trade portal) for retail and wholesale partners. Marketing is conducted through the corporate website, an email newsletter, and active social media presence across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok, supplemented by press and media relations.

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time sales of physical books (hardcover, paperback, signed, and Taschenbuch formats) to end consumers via the D2C storefront and to retail partners via wholesale. No funding rounds, M&A activity, leadership changes, or revenue figures are disclosed in the available source material; ownership is described as privately held with no parent company identified. Customer concentration is structurally low given the long-tail consumer base and distributed wholesale channel across the DACH region.

Name

Ullstein Buchverlage

Legal name

Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH

Website

https://ullstein-buchverlage.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1877

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ullstein Buchverlage GmbH is a Berlin-based, privately held German trade publishing house (founded 1877) publishing adult fiction, non-fiction, New Adult, and young adult titles in German across multiple imprints, serving consumers and bookstore partners across the DACH region.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

General Trade Publishing (Adult Fiction & Nonfiction) (MPAJAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health, Wellness & Fitness Trade Publishing (MPAJAAAL)

Keywords

• Book publishing
• Literary fiction
• Non-fiction books
• Young adult fiction
• Book retail distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Berlin

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: One-time sale of physical books (hardcover, paperback, paperback signed editions, pocket/taschenbuch formats) to end consumers and retail partners. Revenue generated through direct online sales and wholesale distribution to bookstores.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Ullstein Buchverlage is a German book publishing house that publishes and sells physical books across multiple genres including literature, entertainment/thrillers, non-fiction, New Adult (Forever imprint), and young adult (Jugendbuch) titles. The company operates through multiple imprints under the Ullstein publishing group, distributes via direct e-commerce (ullstein.de), wholesale to bookstores in the DACH region, and offers ancillary services such as Corporate Publishing, Foreign Rights licensing, and trade (B2B) partner services.

Product overview

Ullstein Buchverlage is a German book publishing house offering a portfolio of books across multiple imprints and genres. The core product is physical and digital books, with titles spanning literature, entertainment fiction, thrillers, non-fiction, New Adult, and young adult categories. The publishing house operates through its main imprint Ullstein Buchverlag, the Forever sub-brand for New Adult fiction, and a dedicated young adult program. The company also provides related services including Corporate Publishing, Foreign Rights licensing, and a Blogger program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Forever: New Adult publishing imprint
• Ullstein Buchverlag

Products and services

• Ullstein Buchverlag (Main Imprint)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Carlsen Verlag: Leading German Young Adult and children's publisher; directly comparable to Ullstein's Jugendbuch imprint for the same adolescent reader segment.
• S. Fischer Verlag: Frankfurt-based premium German literary and trade publisher; competes for top German-language literary authors and bestseller lists in the same DACH retail environment.
• Aufbau Verlag: Berlin-based German literary and non-fiction trade publisher operating in the same city and overlapping literary fiction / Sachbuch categories as Ullstein.
• Rowohlt Verlag: Established Hamburg-based German general trade publisher with overlapping fiction, non-fiction, and thriller titles; comparable scale and author-targeting strategy.
• dtv (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag): Major German paperback trade publisher offering literary fiction, non-fiction, and YA; competes with Ullstein's Taschenbuch and Jugendbuch lines in the same German retail channel.
• Bastei Lübbe: Cologne-based German trade publisher with comparable fiction, thriller, and non-fiction list plus direct retail operations; directly competes for the same DACH authors and shelf space as Ullstein.

Broad incumbents

• Bonnier Media Deutschland: German operations of the Bonnier media group with multiple trade imprints; structurally comparable as a multi-imprint trade publisher operating in the same DACH market.
• Hanser Verlag: Munich-based German publisher of literary fiction, non-fiction, and youth titles; broader catalog with similar literary positioning to Ullstein's Literatur and Jugendbuch lines.
• HarperCollins Germany: German subsidiary of a global publishing group offering fiction, thriller, and non-fiction; competes with Ullstein for translated international bestsellers and German-language authors.
• Penguin Random House Germany (Verlagsgruppe Random House): German arm of the world's largest trade publisher; broader portfolio and deeper resources make it a key incumbent competitor for top authors and bookstore placement across all Ullstein genres.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ullsteinverlage
• LinkedInde.linkedin.com/company/ullstein-buchverlage-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/ullsteinbuchverlage
• TikToktiktok.com/@ullstein.buchverlage
• Xx.com/Ullstein

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 Ullstein Buchverlage