Max & Moritz

What Max & Moritz does

Buchhandlung Max & Moritz Bonn-Oberkassel, operating as Max & Moritz, is an independent German retail bookstore headquartered in Bonn-Oberkassel, North Rhine-Westphalia, with a dual physical-storefront and e-commerce presence. The company sells books and a small range of non-book media products to individual consumers, offering access to a catalog of 14 million titles via its distribution network across genres including novels, crime and thrillers, children's and young adult literature, guides and non-fiction, cookbooks, travel, and science fiction. Its primary value proposition combines neighborhood bookstore service, including personal consultation and in-store pickup, with a transactional e-commerce platform that supports home delivery. There are 13 employees and a single physical location in Bonn-Oberkassel, with no disclosed additional branches or geographic expansion.

The business operates under standard German book retail economics: pricing is fixed by law via the Buchpreisbindung, which governs all German book retailers and removes price competition on titles. Revenue is generated on a unit-pricing, pay-as-you-go basis through one-time sales of physical books and select non-book items. Online orders can be picked up in-store or shipped to customers, with free shipping offered above €50, and payment is accepted via PayPal, invoice, prepayment, credit card, and cash on delivery. The store is a partner of the Buch&Co book trade cooperation, which provides access to broader distribution networks, shared marketing resources, and improved purchasing terms within the German bookstore ecosystem.

The company's technology stack is a standard e-commerce implementation powered by the Buchkatalog platform hosted on Zeitfracht Digital infrastructure, with SSL-encrypted checkout, genre/category navigation, and promotional merchandising such as bestseller carousels and BookTok-trend sections. Operations are domestic to Germany with no disclosed geographic expansion, M&A activity, funding rounds, or leadership changes in the available data. Ownership structure is not disclosed and the company appears to operate as a privately held independent retailer.

Name

Max & Moritz

Legal name

Buchhandlung Max & Moritz Bonn-Oberkassel

Website

https://buchhandlung-maxundmoritz.de

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Max & Moritz is an independent German bookstore in Bonn-Oberkassel operating both a physical storefront and an e-commerce site, selling books across genres plus non-book media to individual consumers, with 14 million titles accessible via the Buch&Co distribution partnership.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Bookstore

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (4592)

SIC

Retail-Miscellaneous Shopping Goods Stores (5940)

akta.pro primary industry

General Bookstores (New Books) (CRALAAAA)

Keywords

• Retail bookselling
• Independent bookstore
• Online bookstore
• Book distribution
• Children's literature

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn-Oberkassel

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Book Retail Sales: Traditional retail bookselling through physical storefront and online e-commerce platform. Revenue generated from direct sales of books and media products to end consumers. Subject to German book price fixing law (Buchpreisbindung).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Buchhandlung Max & Moritz is an independent German bookstore operating a physical storefront in Bonn-Oberkassel and an e-commerce website. The store sells physical and digital books across multiple genres (novels, crime/thrillers, children's books, travel books, cookbooks, non-fiction, science fiction) along with non-book media products. It offers access to 14 million titles through the Buch&Co distribution network, secure SSL-encrypted payment processing, in-store pickup, and personal consultation services.

Product overview

Buchhandlung Max & Moritz is an online bookstore offering a single unified platform for purchasing books and non-book media products. The core product is physical and digital books distributed across multiple genre subcategories including novels (Romane), crime/thrillers (Krimi und Thriller), children's and youth literature (Kinder- und Jugend), guides and non-fiction (Ratgeber und Sachbuch), cookbooks (Kochbücher), travel books (Reisebücher), science fiction, and paperback editions. Additionally, the store offers Non-Book items including media content. The platform provides 14 million titles with services including secure payment processing, SSL encryption, free shipping from 50 EUR, in-store pickup, and personal consultation. The company is a partner of the Buch&Co bookstore cooperation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Books (Bücher) Physical and digital books across multiple genres including novels, crime/thrillers, children's books, travel books, cookbooks, non-fiction, and science fiction, with access to 14 million titles through the Buch&Co distribution network.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Buch&Co (Buchhandelskooperation)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorMax & Moritz is a partner of the Buch&Co book trade cooperation. This partnership provides access to a broader distribution network, shared marketing resources, and integration into the Buch&Co bookstore network for enhanced market presence and purchasing terms.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves3 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Osiander: Regional German independent bookstore group operating physical stores and e-commerce across multiple cities, with comparable genre mix, customer segments, and Buchpreisbindung compliance. Most directly comparable as an independent omnichannel bookseller.
• Buchhandlung Lübsack: Small independent German neighborhood bookstore with an integrated e-commerce shop offering broad genre coverage and personal service, very similar in operating profile to Max & Moritz. Direct comparability on independent scale, omnichannel retail, and local community focus.

Broad incumbents

• Thalia Bücher: Largest German brick-and-mortar bookstore chain with a strong e-commerce platform selling across the same genre breadth (novels, children's, non-fiction, travel) as Max & Moritz. Comparable on omnichannel book retail and German Buchpreisbindung compliance, but operates at national scale rather than a single neighborhood store.
• Mayersche Buchhandlung: Family-owned German bookstore chain with physical stores and online retail, offering the same broad book categories and personal consultation angle as Max & Moritz. Closely comparable on independent heritage, genre assortment, and adherence to German fixed book pricing.
• Barnes & Noble: Large US omnichannel bookseller offering similar genre breadth, e-commerce store, and in-store pickup options to Max & Moritz. Functionally analogous on omnichannel book retail model and broad consumer reader base, though operating under a different fixed-pricing regime.
• Waterstones: UK high-street and online bookseller with curated physical stores and a full e-commerce platform selling across the same broad genre categories as Max & Moritz. Comparable on independent heritage, omnichannel strategy, and personal consultation angle.
• Hugendubel: Major German bookstore chain with both physical stores and a full e-commerce offering, selling books and non-book media under the same price-binding regime. Directly comparable product mix (fiction, children's, cookbooks, non-fiction) and similar customer segment to Max & Moritz, but at much larger scale.
• Weltbild: Large German online retailer selling books, e-books, and non-book media with a catalog breadth similar to Max & Moritz's 14M-title offering. Comparable as a digital-first competitor that draws the same general consumer reader segment, especially outside urban cores.
• Amazon.de (Books): Dominant German online bookseller offering the full 14M+ title universe, fast delivery, and competitive non-book cross-sell — the primary scale competitor Max & Moritz faces online. Comparable on product breadth and e-commerce UX, with a fundamentally larger fulfillment footprint.

Regional players

• Bücher Pustet: Independent German bookstore group with a strong physical and online presence, focused on general consumer books across genres analogous to Max & Moritz's assortment. Comparable on independent heritage and full-spectrum book retail, but concentrated in southern Germany.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/max-&-moritz

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Max & Moritz