Interview with the head of Pocketbook Global

[igorsk]

Ukrainian magazine Business Class published an interview with Oleg Naumenko, head of PocketBook Global. Some interesting facts:

1) sales grew 50 times in less than a year
2) started with 1k batch in August 2009, sold all by the end of October
3) currently sell 50k units a month worldwide, planning to reach 100k/month by the end of 2011.
4) planning to go IPO by the end of this year.

[Geppetto]

So, he's saying he sells 50.000 ereaders monthly in 2010.

Digitimes told that 1.35 millions of ereaders were shipped to vendors in the second quarter of 2010 (337.500 monthly)

Draw your conclusions...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Geppetto

So, he's saying he sells 50.000 ereaders monthly in 2010.

Digitimes told that 1.35 millions of ereaders were shipped to vendors in the second quarter of 2010 (337.500 monthly)

Draw your conclusions...

1.35 million readers in a quarter is 450,000 a month. If Pocketbook are selling 50,000 a month, that means they have >10% market share. That's pretty impressive.

[Geppetto]

That's pretty unreliable, to me.
In their main market an ereader costs a monthly average income.

[mikaelalind]

If the numbers quoted by Pocketbook Global's Ceo are true, it is pretty impressing. I do wonder if the re-branded Netronix e-book readers are included, or just Pocketbook's readers?

This is probably a silly question but what is IPO?

[SpeckledJim]

Initial Public Offering.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPO

[hidari]

Originally Posted by mikaelalind

If the numbers quoted by Pocketbook Global's Ceo are true, it is pretty impressing. I do wonder if the re-branded Netronix e-book readers are included, or just Pocketbook's readers?

This is probably a silly question but what is IPO?

IPO: Initial Public Offering=Will be come a public company with stocks..etc...

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by mikaelalind

If the numbers quoted by Pocketbook Global's Ceo are true, it is pretty impressing. I do wonder if the re-branded Netronix e-book readers are included, or just Pocketbook's readers?

This is probably a silly question but what is IPO?

Initial Public Offering. Selling shares in the company to raise capital, turning it from a private company into a publicly traded company.

[hidari]

Originally Posted by Geppetto

That's pretty unreliable, to me.
In their main market an ereader costs a monthly average income.

Lots of people make a lot more money than their Official income in the Ukraine and Russia.... Trust me.....

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by mikaelalind

I do wonder if the re-branded Netronix e-book readers are included, or just Pocketbook's readers?

By context that would be Pocketbook Global, which is a separate entity from Netronix. Indeed, a recent teaser over in the Pocketbook forum said the next wave of PBG readers will *not* be Netronix devices.

At 50K per month that puts them at 600,000 a year or about two thirds the volume of Sony. And, as pointed out, about 10% market share world-wide. Definitely a top-10 brand, possibly even top-5.

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by Geppetto

That's pretty unreliable, to me.
In their main market an ereader costs a monthly average income.

PBG is not a regional vendor.
They have a fairly broad network of resellers in NorthAmerica (at least 4 that I know of) and Europe, besides their retail presence in Ukraine.
They do need to get into B&M retail in the west, moving forward, but that is true of pretty much all ebook readers, even Kindle.

[HarryT]

"B&M retail"? What do you mean by that?

[cfrizz]

Brick & Mortar stores retail.

[HarryT]

Ah, thank you.

[Logseman]

Originally Posted by HarryT

"B&M retail"? What do you mean by that?

B&M means "brick and mortar" and AFAIK it springs off from poker players, as Brick and Mortar is usually how they call physical casinos in opposition to internet-based ones. The idea is that Pocketbook readers should be sold in retailers like Targets, Marks and Spencer, Carrefour and so on.