KANZELSBERGER

KANZELSBERGER (Kanzelsberger a.s.) is a Czech bookselling company that runs a chain of bookshops of the same name across the Czech Republic, offering a range of titles from fiction to specialist and professional publications. According to Czech Wikipedia, the company operates 24 bricks-and-mortar stores. Its roots reach back to the Orbis bookshop on Wenceslas Square in Prague, a corner shop at the junction with Štěpánská Street that had been trading since 1922; Jan Kanzelsberger worked there for many years as manager before founding the family business in 1990. The company is a joint-stock company (akciová společnost) wholly owned by its founder Jan Kanzelsberger, who runs it together with his two sons. Jan Kanzelsberger Sr. also serves as the company's general director and chairman of the board. This family ownership and management structure has been a defining feature of the brand throughout its modern history. KANZELSBERGER operates several store formats: large stores, medium and small shops, and outlets located in shopping centres. In 2005 the company introduced its own loyalty programme, Klub Kanzelsberger. Its unified visual identity was created by architect Jan Růžička and graphic designer Jan Kolář, and was recognised in 2005 with the Dobrý design (Good Design) award from the then Design Centre of the Czech Republic. In 2008 the company won the "Most Beautiful Bookshop Interior" competition organised by the 14th international book fair and literary festival Svět knihy. Beyond retail, the brand has been active in promotion and sponsorship. Until 2009 it was the main partner of the Kanzelsberger cena čtenářů (Kanzelsberger Readers' Prize), a non-statutory award presented within the Magnesia Litera book awards on the basis of reader voting. Together with Czech Radio it promoted sudoku solving on air, and with Czech Radio and Czech Railways it organised a PR event in which a sudoku tournament was held on a train on the Prague–Brno route. The company also sponsors an online sudoku tournament. In addition to its physical stores, the company operates the Důmknihy.cz internet shop, which serves as its online sales channel. The brand's flagship physical venture was the Dům knihy Kanzelsberger, a large Western-European-style book house opened in 1998 in the lower part of Wenceslas Square in the former Lindt commercial palace; its literary café hosted cultural and social events, book christenings, signings and author readings. The company closed that department store in spring 2011, saying it would move the business within a few months to new premises in the nearby Ehlen Palace on Jungmann Square, a plan that was ultimately abandoned. In 2000 the company opened a two-storey bookshop in the Zlatý Anděl building in Prague's Smíchov district, which it closed in December 2013. Today KANZELSBERGER remains one of the recognised bookselling brands in the Czech market, combining a network of physical bookshops with an e-commerce operation and a loyalty club, and maintaining a public profile through social media channels including Facebook and X.

The origins of KANZELSBERGER lie in the Orbis bookshop on Wenceslas Square in Prague, at the corner with Štěpánská Street, which had been in operation since 1922. Jan Kanzelsberger worked there for many years as its manager, and in 1990 he founded the family business that would grow into the Kanzelsberger bookstore chain. In 1998 the company opened the Dům knihy Kanzelsberger in the lower part of Wenceslas Square, in the former Lindt commercial palace (Obchodní palác Lindt). It was conceived as a large, Western-European-style book house. Its literary café hosted cultural and social events, book christenings, signings and author readings, making it a notable literary venue in the Czech capital. In spring 2011 the company closed the department store, stating that within a few months it would relocate the business to new premises in the nearby Ehlen Palace on Jungmann Square; that move ultimately did not happen. In 2000 the company opened a two-storey bookshop in the Zlatý Anděl building in Prague's Smíchov district. This store was closed in December 2013. The company is a joint-stock company (akciová společnost) wholly owned by its founder Jan Kanzelsberger, who manages it together with his two sons. Jan Kanzelsberger Sr. is also the company's general director and chairman of the board. Czech Wikipedia reports that the chain operates 24 bricks-and-mortar stores. In terms of retail strategy, the company runs four types of stores: large stores, medium and small shops, and outlets located in shopping centres. In 2005 it introduced its own loyalty programme, Klub Kanzelsberger. The company's unified visual style was designed by architect Jan Růžička and graphic designer Jan Kolář, who were recognised for the concept in 2005 with the Dobrý design (Good Design) award, presented by the then Design Centre of the Czech Republic. In 2008 the company won the "Most Beautiful Bookshop Interior" competition organised by the organisers of the 14th international book fair and literary festival Svět knihy. The brand has also maintained a promotional and sponsorship presence. Until 2009 it was the main partner of the Kanzelsberger cena čtenářů (Kanzelsberger Readers' Prize), a non-statutory award given within the Magnesia Litera awards on the basis of reader voting. Together with Czech Radio it promoted sudoku solving on air, and together with Czech Radio and Czech Railways it organised a PR event in which a sudoku tournament took place on a train on the Prague–Brno route. The company also sponsors an online sudoku tournament. Alongside its physical network, the company operates the Důmknihy.cz internet shop. It maintains a public presence on Facebook and X. A 2023 interview with Jan Kanzelsberger Jr. in Hospodářské noviny discussed book pricing, with the headline statement that books are not overpriced and that discounting is unrealistic.

• 2023

  Hospodářské noviny publishes an interview with Jan Kanzelsberger Jr. on book pricing.

• 2013

  The company closes its Zlatý Anděl bookshop in Prague's Smíchov district in December.

• 2011

  The company closes the Dům knihy Kanzelsberger department store; a planned relocation to the Ehlen Palace on Jungmann Square does not materialise.

• 2009

  The company ends its role as main partner of the Kanzelsberger cena čtenářů (Kanzelsberger Readers' Prize) within the Magnesia Litera awards.

• 2008

  The company wins the "Most Beautiful Bookshop Interior" competition at the 14th Svět knihy international book fair and literary festival.

• 2005

  The company introduces its Klub Kanzelsberger loyalty programme and receives the Dobrý design award for its unified visual identity.

• 2000

  The company opens a two-storey bookshop in the Zlatý Anděl building in Prague's Smíchov district.

• 1998

  The company opens Dům knihy Kanzelsberger, a large Western-European-style book house, in the former Lindt commercial palace on Wenceslas Square.

• 1990

  Jan Kanzelsberger founds the family business that becomes the Kanzelsberger bookstore chain.

• 1922

  The Orbis bookshop on Wenceslas Square in Prague, at the corner with Štěpánská Street, begins operating; Jan Kanzelsberger later works there as manager.

Family-owned Czech bookstore chain combining a nationwide network of physical bookshops with an online store and loyalty club, spanning large stores, small shops and shopping-centre outlets.

• Books across genres, from fiction to specialist publications

• Důmknihy.cz online shop

• Klub Kanzelsberger loyalty programme

1. 1Kanzelsberger – Czech Wikipediacs.wikipedia.org
2. 2KANZELSBERGER – Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Kanzelsberger official websitekanzelsberger.cz
4. 4Důmknihy.cz online shopdumknihy.cz