B&N Nook coming to the UK

[ghostyjack]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Would you want to try rolling the Nook Tablet out in a market where the Nook brand has no value, and the Nexus 7 is already on sale, along with all the different Samsung lines?

The same could be said for their eink devices. They already have very strong competition from Kobo, Amazon and Sony.

If the tablets sell for less that the Nexus 7, then they will get sales. It they are comparable on price, they they would have a problem.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by ghostyjack

If the tablets sell for less that the Nexus 7, then they will get sales. It they are comparable on price, they they would have a problem.

The 16Gb Nexus 7 is £199, which is a pretty competitive price.
The Kobo Vox is cheaper at £149, The Samsung Tab 2 7.0 8Gb is £169 after rebate, the 16Gb version is £220.
B&N are losing money on the Nook line, and I can't see them being able to compete on price with Google or Samsung, yet they have worse brand recognition than all the other players, so price is all they really can compete on.
If you are interested in eBook reading in the UK, you aren't that likely to want to buy a tablet that can't run the Kindle app, and which is integrated into a brand new bookstore you've never used before.
In the US B&N had major brand recognition as a bookseller, already had brand recognition for the Nook line, and had their own retail outlets to demonstrate and sell the Nook Tablets. In the UK they are starting from scratch, in an already competitive market. At least Amazon haven't brought the Fire to the UK yet, that is one saving grace for B&N.

[carpetmojo]

Can't see this flying at all - don't think the base market is strong enough to support, and make money for, another major player - unless the deal is way better than the competition.
Which comes down to a glowlight screen ?
And supported by an unknown shop line, from someone like Comet/PC World etc... ? With no big physbook presence ?
Nah .........

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

In the US B&N had major brand recognition as a bookseller, already had brand recognition for the Nook line, and had their own retail outlets to demonstrate and sell the Nook Tablets. In the UK they are starting from scratch, in an already competitive market. At least Amazon haven't brought the Fire to the UK yet, that is one saving grace for B&N.

In the US they launched just as ebooks were breaking through into the mainstream and went from zero to 25% in three months. Problem is, two years later they're still at 25%. They've grown with the market but if they're still losing money on Nook, they're not going to get into the black off US sales.
They *need* international sales.
But getting them...
Frankly, their best hope for international ebook sales is from the Windows bundling. Unless they have a great refresh on the way for their tablets their own hardware isn't likely to get them too far in the current environment. Even Sony--with their rabid european brand loyalty--barely sold 65K T1's a month over *all* Europe. Even if B&N can match that in the UK alone it only adds a couple hundred thousand readers to their installed base.

At best its going to be a looonnngg uphill slog to international relevance.
Microsoft or no Microsoft.

[BeccaPrice]

I looked at the Nook ST with glow, and was awfully impressed. It felt *good* in my hands, much more ergonomic than the Kindle. but then, there was that memory sequestering issue, and that they treat side-loaded books differently than they do B&N books, and well, that killed the deal for me.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

I looked at the Nook ST with glow, and was awfully impressed. It felt *good* in my hands, much more ergonomic than the Kindle. but then, there was that memory sequestering issue, and that they treat side-loaded books differently than they do B&N books, and well, that killed the deal for me.

I disagree with the partitioning, but really, you can buy a 16GB uSD card for $10. I wouldn't call it a "deal breaker", but that's my opinion.

[jocampo]

It was about time ...

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Frankly, their best hope for international ebook sales is from the Windows bundling. Unless they have a great refresh on the way for their tablets their own hardware isn't likely to get them too far in the current environment. Even Sony--with their rabid european brand loyalty--barely sold 65K T1's a month over *all* Europe. Even if B&N can match that in the UK alone it only adds a couple hundred thousand readers to their installed base.

Yup, I agree. This is more about rolling out the Nook store, for sales to the upcoming Window app, than about rolling out the Nook hardware.

[darksaber35]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

The 16Gb Nexus 7 is £199, which is a pretty competitive price.
The Kobo Vox is cheaper at £149, The Samsung Tab 2 7.0 8Gb is £169 after rebate, the 16Gb version is £220.
B&N are losing money on the Nook line, and I can't see them being able to compete on price with Google or Samsung, yet they have worse brand recognition than all the other players, so price is all they really can compete on.
If you are interested in eBook reading in the UK, you aren't that likely to want to buy a tablet that can't run the Kindle app, and which is integrated into a brand new bookstore you've never used before.
In the US B&N had major brand recognition as a bookseller, already had brand recognition for the Nook line, and had their own retail outlets to demonstrate and sell the Nook Tablets. In the UK they are starting from scratch, in an already competitive market. At least Amazon haven't brought the Fire to the UK yet, that is one saving grace for B&N.

I cant agree more, B&N have almost Zero creditability WORLDWIDE outside the USA and Canada.if you asked the average British or European reader who B&N are then they would have to make a guess and probably think there a private law company or other

The ship sailed along time ago for B&N to go international and now there paying the price. Now that there coming to Great Britain with there cap in hand rattling there begging bowl they wont be getting many £1 coins from us British

We already have plenty of reading devices over here that are better OR cheaper or cheaper & better than what B&N have to offer

B&N brought a pen knife to a gun fight when they tried to take on Amazon,Google,SONY , Apple & samsung and others as there all taking a big bite out of the WORLDWIDE ebook reader pie while B&N have been fixated on the U.S. market.

[djulian]

They've also selected an in-UK retailer:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/28/b...light-to-uk-r/

[Suzanna]

Originally Posted by darksaber35

I cant agree more, B&N have almost Zero creditability WORLDWIDE outside the USA and Canada.if you asked the average British or European reader who B&N are then they would have to make a guess and probably think there a private law company or other

B&N and Nook aren't in Canada at all, and the average Canadian has no idea who they are. I find it interesting that they decided to launch in the UK, but still aren't in Canada. If they're looking to partner with a bricks and mortar bookseller, though, they'd be out of luck here. Our only major player is Chapters/Indigo and they're affiliated with Kobo. (Which they owned before selling to Rakuten.)

[l_macd]

Originally Posted by djulian

They've also selected an in-UK retailer:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/28/b...light-to-uk-r/

John Lewis already sell Kobo's (and will sell you a Kindle if you order it over the phone for in-store collection - not sure why there is that restriction?), so it's not an exclusive.

Like most others, I struggle to see where the Nook will find a space for itself in the market as a completely unknown brand here.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by l_macd

John Lewis already sell Kobo's (and will sell you a Kindle if you order it over the phone for in-store collection - not sure why there is that restriction?), so it's not an exclusive.

They also have (or at least did a while ago) Kindles on display and for sale in-store.

[Ubermensch]

Originally Posted by Suzanna

B&N and Nook aren't in Canada at all, and the average Canadian has no idea who they are. I find it interesting that they decided to launch in the UK, but still aren't in Canada.

This this this.

I am not sure why they decided to jump the ocean instead of just paying a visit to their northern neighbours. I leave in Canada and bought a Nook last year as my first e-reader. I had no idea what the hell was B&N prior to that. They don't even ship Nooks to Canada, I had to find someone in the United-States who would ship it for me. And then when you have your Nook, buying books from the B&N store is another issue.

It's unfortunate, because many major reviewers said that the Nook STR is (was) probably the best e-reader on the market. At least they are starting to improve this aspect of their business, but it's now a few years too late...

[afv011]

3 more retailers announced:

Barnes & Noble today announced three more UK retailers for the Android-based Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight. And as the headline suggests, they'll be in Argos, Blackwell's and Foyles.

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