[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by scrapking

What you're suggesting is exactly what Kobo's been doing with their recent deals.

Kobo was created by, and still partnered with, the biggest bookstore chain in Canada (Chapters/Indigo/Coles). They've used that dominant retail footprint to raise Kobo from a new entrant to #1 in the Canadian market (yes, ahead of the Kindle) in e-reader ownership in Canada. I believe Canada is now the only market that Amazon's ever lost leadership in e-readers.

Kobo's reaching out to major retail players in other countries that have the reach to build the brand. In exchange for the retail shelf-space for these bricks-and-mortar stores, Kobo shares royalties on e-book sales in those countries.

So far, in addition to Chapters/Indigo in Canada, Kobo's signed up:

- WH Smith in the UK (the #1 book retailer in the UK based on number of locations),

- Swindon Book Co. in Hong Kong (I'm not sure how big they are),

- Libris Blz in the Netherlands (an alliance/buying group of independent bookstores, apparently the biggest player in book retail in that country).

They've also signed up:

- FNAC in France, a book/electronic store hybrid, and "the largest retailer of its kind in France",

- Redcoon.de (an apparently major online retailer based in Germany, but serving most of continental Europe).

There are rumours that the second-largest bookstore chain in the UK (Waterstones) might be working with B&N/Nook as well, but I haven't heard anything official yet.

It'll be interesting to see if Kobo can replicate the magic they performed in Canada. Market research firms show Kindle maintaining its cumulative marketshare (ie. growing with the market), while Kobo has rocketed up the charts at the expense of Sony and other players (whose cumulative marketshare is dropping). Canada is quickly becoming a two-horse race for e-reader sales.

But Canada has a singularly dominant bookstore player in Chapters/Indigo, not even B&N is as influential in the U.S. market as Chapters is in Canada. I think the partnerships with WHSmith and Libris Blz are very significant for Kobo, but I think these deals may provide Nook-style results (ie. strong second-place finishes) rather than Canadian results (a first place position ahead of Kindle).

One potential exception to all this: Japan. Obviously a strong market for Sony, but Rakuten (the so-called "eBay of Japan) is not to be dismissed there. The Japanese are apparently voracious readers (both books and manga). Rakuten will have to act as a disruptive force in the Japanese market as there's a bit of an oligarchy there (what the publishers/distributors are doing there makes our agency-model debate look like nothing), but there's huge potential for the Kobo brand there, and Amazon is not yet offering the Kindle there (despite attempts to do so). And whatever the book publishers do, manga will remain an opportunity there.

I love my Kobo reader...but Kobo's CS sucks. Big Time.

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

You prefer; Bitches?

Originally Posted by scrapking

I was thinking something less offensive, myself.

I'm sure I'm not the only male here, and I'm sure few/none of the women here want to be called "bitches".

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Which is why I used the polite "Ladies".

I mean, seriously. What happened to "Family Friendly and Safe for Work"??