by Siobhan O’Leary

In an interview with Buchreport, CEO Carel Halff of German book publisher and retailer Weltbild predicts that Germany will experience a dramatic reduction in bookstore retail space over the next five years. Halff suggests that book retailer square footage could shrink by as much as 40% by 2015, both due to store closings and an increase in space dedicated to non-book products. (Bookselling space increased by 1.2% in 2009 and by 13% in 2008, according to a study released by Buchreport at the end of last year).