DILISCO
DILISCO is a French book distribution and diffusion company, wholly owned by Groupe Albin Michel, that provides warehousing, logistics, and field sales representation to 100+ publishers across school, youth, academic, and general literature categories for French and francophone retail markets.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1988
- HeadquartersChéniers, France
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What DILISCO does
DILISCO is a French book distribution and diffusion company operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Groupe Albin Michel. Founded in 1988 as Distribution du Livre Scolaire following the spin-off of distribution activities from the Magnard Group, the company provides integrated physical distribution and commercial diffusion services to publishers and booksellers across French-speaking markets. Its dual service model combines logistics (warehousing, transport, fulfillment) with field-based commercial representation for publishers, delivered through a network of 40+ sales representatives and 4 commercial managers organized into specialized teams by publishing segment.
The company's operations are anchored by two distribution centers in Chéniers and Bonnat (Creuse) and a commercial headquarters in Ivry-sur-Seine (Paris region), connected via the Dilicom electronic ordering platform that handles real-time order management, invoicing, and supply chain coordination across publishers, distributors, and booksellers. A real-time sales-tracking and activity-piloting tool layered on top of Dilicom provides publishers with visibility into retail sell-through. DILISCO distributes across categories including Scolaire/Parascolaire, Jeunesse, Vie Pratique, Sciences Humaines, Littérature, and Esotérisme, serving 100+ publishers such as Magnard, Vuibert, Belin, De Boeck Supérieur, Studyrama, and L'Étudiant.
DILISCO generates revenue through transaction-based distribution fees on physical book sales and service fees for diffusion and field-sales support provided to publishers, with all pricing negotiated privately under B2B contracts. Distribution channels span independent French bookstores via the field force, dedicated key-account teams for enterprise retailers (Fnac, Cultura, Decitre, Furet du Nord), and e-commerce platforms (Amazon, Fnac.com, Chapitre). International markets are served through 10 export representatives and 10 regional distribution partners across Belgium, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Morocco, Canada, Asia, and French overseas territories. The company is led by CEO David Gobert under Chairman Francis Esménard, with Emmanuelle Jurmand heading international diffusion.
DILISCO firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- DILISCO
- Legal name
- DILISCO SAS
- Website
- https://dilisco-diffusion.centprod.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1988
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- DILISCO is a French book distribution and diffusion company, wholly owned by Groupe Albin Michel, that provides warehousing, logistics, and field sales representation to 100+ publishers across school, youth, academic, and general literature categories for French and francophone retail markets.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
DILISCO industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Book Distribution Services
- NAICS
- Book, Periodical, and Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers (424920)
- SIC
- Wholesale-Paper & Paper Products (5110)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Book & Periodical Wholesalers (Trade Distribution) (MPAJAKAA)
Keywords
Where DILISCO is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chéniers
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
DILISCO business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Book Distribution Services: DILISCO provides distribution services to publishers, handling physical logistics, warehousing, and delivery to bookstores and retailers. Revenue is generated through distribution fees and margin on physical book sales fulfillment.
- Book Diffusion/Marketing Services: Commercial and marketing operations for publishers including field sales representation, sales team deployment to bookstores, and promotional activities. Revenue generated through service fees from publishers.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Book ordering via Dilicom platform |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels3 records
DILISCO product offering
Product offeringCore offering
DILISCO provides two integrated B2B services to publishers: physical book distribution (warehousing, logistics, order fulfillment, and delivery to bookstores and retailers) and book diffusion (commercial representation through a field sales force covering independent and chain bookstores, plus key-account and e-commerce account management). The company manages the supply chain from publishers to points of sale across France and select francophone export markets, organized around specialized segment teams covering school, parascholarly, youth, general literature, practical life, university, and esoteric categories.
Product overview
DILISCO is a book distribution and diffusion company operating in France, serving the publishing industry. The company provides two core services: Distribution (physical logistics including storage, transport, and order fulfillment connecting publishers to bookstores) and Diffusion (commercial and marketing operations through a team of 40+ representatives). DILISCO distributes books across multiple thematic categories including School/Parascholarly, Youth, General Literature, Leisure/Practical Life, University/Academic, and Competition preparation materials. The company serves publishers (offering personalized publisher relations, sales representation, and logistics support) and bookstores (handling orders, invoicing, and deliveries). DILISCO is part of the Albin Michel Group and operates distribution centers in Chéniers and Bonnat (Creuse) with commercial offices in Ivry-sur-Seine.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Book Distribution Services End-to-end physical book distribution service covering warehousing, logistics, order fulfillment, invoicing, and delivery of publisher catalogs to independent bookstores, retail chains, and e-commerce platforms across France and export markets; orders are processed through the Dilicom electronic ordering system.
- Book Diffusion (Commercial Representation) Services Commercial and marketing representation for publishers, deploying a 40-representative field sales force organized into segment-specialized teams (school/parascholarly, literature/documents/history, humanities/university, practical/esoteric/youth, parascholarly/practical) plus dedicated key-account teams for major retailers (Decitre, Furet du Nord, Fnac, Cultura) and online platforms (Amazon, Fnac.com, Chapitre).
Companies that use DILISCO
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments7 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
DILISCO technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
DILISCO partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
15 partnerships are on record, tiered regional, minor, core and flagship.
- Le Comptoir du LivreregionalRegional distribution partner in France located in Portet-sur-Garonne (near Toulouse), handling book distribution in the southwestern region.
- Geste DiffusionregionalRegional distribution partner based in La Crèche (Deux-Sèvres), handling distribution for publishers in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.
- DCL DistributionregionalDistribution partner based in Ajaccio, Corsica, serving the island market and surrounding regions.
- Diffusion Transat (Servidis)regionalSwiss distribution partner handling book distribution in Switzerland through Servidis S.A. based in Chavannes de Bogis.
- Diffusion Nord-Sud / DaphnéregionalDistribution partner for Belgium region.
- OLF Distribution / Société Albert Le GrandregionalDistribution partner for Quebec, Canada region.
- Somabec / TC Média LivresregionalCanadian distribution partner headquartered in Montreal, serving Quebec and broader Canadian French-language book markets.
- PrologueregionalCanadian distribution partner based in Boisbriand, Quebec, specializing in practical/lifestyle book segment.
- Diffusion Al MadarissregionalMoroccan distribution partner based in Casablanca, serving school and university book markets.
- DDP DiffusionminorDistribution partner for Asia region.
- SOGEREminorDistribution partner for DOM-TOM (French overseas territories).
- DLL PresseminorPress distribution partner.
- DilicomcoreTechnology platform provider for electronic book ordering system. DILISCO uses Dilicom as its primary B2B ordering and supply chain management platform connecting publishers, distributors, and retailers.
- Groupe Albin MichelflagshipParent publishing group. DILISCO became wholly owned by Groupe Albin Michel on December 31, 1999, through Editions Magnard. The group includes major publishing houses and represents a significant strategic affiliation.
- Groupe Albin MichelflagshipPublisher parent group for DILISCO. Includes major publishers such as Magnard, Albin Michel, and others within the publishing group.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
DILISCO competitors and assessment
Company assessmentRegional players
- Servidis: Servidis is a Swiss book distributor that handles francophone distribution for Switzerland and is also a regional partner of DILISCO; it is comparable as a regional book wholesaler with diffusion services, serving the Swiss francophone market that overlaps with DILISCO's export network.
- Gardners Books: Gardners is the UK's largest independent book wholesaler, providing trade distribution to UK and European retailers and libraries; comparable to DILISCO in core distribution and fulfillment functions, but focused on the English-language UK/European market rather than francophone retail.
- Brodart Supplies & Furnishings: Brodart is a major US book distributor serving libraries and retailers with full-service distribution and processing; comparable to DILISCO in trade-distribution model and library/retail customer base, though operating in the North American market.
Direct peers
- Interforum: Interforum is the book distribution arm of Editis (Plon, Fayard, Pocket, etc.) and provides end-to-end distribution and diffusion services to French publishers and retailers — directly comparable in business model, customer base, and geographic coverage to DILISCO.
- Hachette Livre Distribution: Hachette Livre, part of Lagardère, is France's largest publisher and operates its own book distribution arm serving French and international bookstores; it is a direct peer as a vertically integrated French book distributor with comparable field-sales and logistics capabilities.
- Volumen: Volumen is a smaller French book distribution and diffusion company serving independent publishers; it competes directly with DILISCO for the same independent-publisher segment and uses similar field-sales coverage of French bookstores.
- France Messagerie: France Messagerie (formerly MLP/Messageries Lyonnaises de Presse and merged with former Presstalis/NMPP operations) is the dominant press and magazine distributor in France, providing wholesale distribution to newsstands and retailers — adjacent to DILISCO's book distribution in physical logistics and retail-channel coverage.
- SODIS: SODIS is the book distribution arm of Groupe Madrigall (Gallimard, Flammarion, etc.) and operates as a French trade-book wholesaler with field-sales coverage of bookstores — the closest direct competitor to DILISCO in scale and service model. SODIS is even surfaced on DILISCO's own website navigation, underscoring the parallel positioning.
Broad incumbents
- Ingram Content Group: Ingram is the largest English-language book wholesaler globally, providing warehousing, fulfillment, and digital distribution to publishers and retailers; it operates in the same category as DILISCO but at vastly larger scale and across a much broader portfolio of services and geographies.
- Amazon (Books): Amazon is both a major customer and a structural competitor for DILISCO: it operates as a French-language e-commerce book retailer that buys from DILISCO's distribution but also bypasses distributors via direct-publisher relationships and its own publishing arm.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
DILISCO social profiles
Digital presenceDILISCO financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
DILISCO leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
DILISCO funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
DILISCO M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about DILISCO
What does DILISCO do?
DILISCO provides two integrated B2B services to publishers: physical book distribution (warehousing, logistics, order fulfillment, and delivery to bookstores and retailers) and book diffusion (commercial representation through a field sales force covering independent and chain bookstores, plus key-account and e-commerce account management). The company manages the supply chain from publishers to points of sale across France and select francophone export markets, organized around specialized segment teams covering school, parascholarly, youth, general literature, practical life, university, and esoteric categories.
Is DILISCO a public or private company?
DILISCO is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was DILISCO founded?
DILISCO was founded in 1988. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is DILISCO based?
DILISCO is headquartered in Chéniers, France, in the Europe region.
How does DILISCO make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Book Distribution Services are the primary driver. The others are book Diffusion/Marketing Services.
Who are DILISCO's main competitors?
Regional players on record are Servidis, Gardners Books and Brodart Supplies & Furnishings. Direct peers are Interforum, Hachette Livre Distribution, Volumen, France Messagerie and SODIS. Broad incumbents are Ingram Content Group and Amazon (Books).
Does DILISCO have an API?
No public API is recorded for DILISCO.
What industry is DILISCO in?
DILISCO's product category is Book Distribution Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAKAA, Book & Periodical Wholesalers (Trade Distribution). Its NAICS code is 424920 and its SIC code is 5110.