On February 1, 2027, a new framework agreement with Adda will come into effect. The agreement, which runs for four years, will allow the affiliated municipalities – representing approximately 70 percent of all municipalities in the country – to purchase printed and digital learning materials directly from Adlibris.
This initiative follows a challenging financial year. According to the 2025 annual report, Adlibris Group’s turnover landed at SEK 2.3 billion, an increase of 4 percent. Despite the revenue growth, EBITA results fell to -SEK 44.3 million. A contributing factor was a 11 percent decrease in sales to consumers, while sales to the public sector simultaneously increased by a full 34 percent.
The rapid growth in public procurement raises the question of whether the e-commerce retailer is now deliberately steering the ship away from the more unpredictable consumer market towards safer municipal agreements. However, according to Karin Rådenman, there is no such strategic shift:
No, this is not about reducing dependence on consumer business. The 11 percent loss last year is largely explained by the start-up problems in our new automation warehouse, not by a structural decline, says Karin Rådenman to Ehandel.se.
She emphasizes that the core business is doing well and that the investment in schools is a separate project to create additional revenue streams.
We see it in the figures: consumer business is stable over time, and in the first half of 2026 we have had good growth again. Learning materials are instead a growth leg outside of consumer business, where we are building on our large business with the public sector to diversify revenue and create further profitability, not to compensate for weakness in the core business.
Logistics stands on its own feet
During the past year, Adlibris has invested heavily in a new AutoStore facility in Morgongåva. A common strategy in e-commerce is to secure large, predictable volumes to recoup expensive warehouse investments more quickly.
The schools’ planned purchases would theoretically fit perfectly into that model, but the company sees the learning materials agreement from a different perspective.
No, there is no connection there. We are recouping the investment in the automation warehouse in our existing business, says Karin Rådenman.
She stresses that logistical benefits are a bonus, but that the deal with schools is driven by its own merits.
The learning materials initiative is a separate, long-term initiative that should contribute additional profitability over time, rather than filling capacity in the existing warehouse. The fact that volumes from the school world are more predictable is an advantage in itself, but it is not the driving force behind the initiative, says Karin.
The Norwegian paradox
An interesting aspect of the new learning materials initiative is the choice of technology partner. Adlibris will use the Norwegian platform Neddi, which is co-owned by Lære, to manage the customer interface with schools. This happens just a few months after Adlibris closed its own e-commerce business in Norway due to lack of profitability.
READ ALSO: After 19 years: Adlibris closes its e-commerce business in the country
According to Olav Dalen Halvorsen, CEO of Neddi, there is enormous potential in the collaboration as the two countries’ markets for learning materials are very similar.
Karin Rådenman agrees but believes there is no contradiction in closing a Norwegian store and simultaneously entering into a Norwegian partnership.
These are two completely different business logics. Our Norwegian consumer business faced structural profitability problems: high tariffs, expensive shipping costs and regulated book prices made it simply unprofitable to continue, she says and continues:
Neddi is something else: a technology partnership where we bring in a platform specifically developed for the sale and distribution of learning materials to schools.
Scaling up before 2027
Although the news is being widely publicized now, it will not be until February 2027 that the agreement with Adda comes into effect.
The long lead time to launch raises questions about how preparations will affect the company’s finances in 2026, a year when the company is already struggling to reverse last year’s million-dollar loss.
According to the business area manager, however, the risk of a new financial blow during the build-up phase is minimal.
The impact on 2026 is limited. The deal consists largely of variable costs, which means we can scale up as the business grows, rather than bearing large fixed costs in advance, says Karin Rådenman.
The agreement is expected to be particularly important in the future with the upcoming school reform in 2028, which will introduce a ten-year primary school and a new curriculum. Adlibris expects the reform to drive up demand for new learning materials sharply, and the company is now ensuring it is ready behind the scenes.
This allows us to build up the learning materials initiative without it hitting this year’s results hard, while still being ready to deliver fully when the agreement starts in 2027.
Now it remains to be seen how traditional suppliers will respond to the e-commerce giant entering the game.
Competition has been non-existent in the resale link for learning materials, and Adlibris has a history of coming in and shaking up old structures. Now we are doing it again within learning materials, and I am very much looking forward to building up the business to become a leader here as well, concludes Karin Rådenman.