Once the king of the big clubs, German publishing giant Bertelsmann has announced it is completely closing out its book clubs division. Three years ago (see this article), Bertelsmann sold off most of its book clubs, including the Science Fiction Book Club. Now they’ve announced that, effective 30 June, the company is closing its Direct Group, which includes the remaining book clubs and direct marketing division.
Bertelsmann is still a global publishing giant, but it will be shrinking to four major divisions: Random House, the European magazine publisher Gruner + Jahr, the radio and television division RTL, and a business services group named Arvato.