Waterstones (UK biggest bookseller) to sell Amazon's Kindle book reader

[Blue Tyson]

ADE Libraries are not going to last forever, either.

[stonetools]

Originally Posted by Kali Yuga

That's exactly what Waterstones has done.



For many years, Borders (US) did not set up their own website; they basically put a skin on Amazon's website. As a result, they were basically handing one of their biggest competitors a check and tons of user data every minute of every day. Along similar lines, they partnered with Kobo on ebooks.

Borders shut down last year. This wasn't the only reason why, but it certainly was a part of it.

In the short term, this is probably the best Waterstones can do. It would cost hundreds of millions of pounds to develop their own ebook reader, and it might never recoup the expenses. They could develop a tablet app, but would be hamstrung on the iOS platform.

In the long term, they've turned themselves into a showroom for Amazon, which is basically an inventive way of digging their own grave.

Cosign. Maybe there is some secret agreement between Waterstones and Amazon that we don't know about, though. I've heard talk of maybe Waterstones in future offering deals whereby Waterstones print books are bundled wiith Amazon ebooks.

[ProfCrash]

If they have reached an agreement that makes Waterstone more money and Amazon is good with it then good for both companies. Time will tell if it is a good arrangement or not but at least someone seems to be trying to do something a bit different.

This does make it look like BN is still a good deal away from launching the Nook internationally which is not helping BN. Kobo is probably catching up to BN because of its international reach, and Kindle is gaining steam throughout Europe, I believe I read somewhere that it is the number one e-reader in the UK now. If BN is able to make its way into the international market it is likely that they are going to be in a distant third, maybe even fourth behind Sony. It depends on the price point for the Nook.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Kobo is probably catching up to BN because of its international reach, and Kindle is gaining steam throughout Europe, I believe I read somewhere that it is the number one e-reader in the UK now.

The Kindle utterly dominates the reader market in the UK. Goodness knows what their market share is, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's over 90%. I suspect it's far more dominant, proportionally, in the UK than it is in the US, because we don't have the nook.

[ProfCrash]

I guess library usage is not a big deal in the UK.

Kobo is beating Amazon in Canada and I suspect that is because of the lack of library coverage.

[Kevin2960]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I guess library usage is not a big deal in the UK.

Kobo is beating Amazon in Canada and I suspect that is because of the lack of library coverage.

Library usage here in the UK is still relatively poor, and very limited, It is starting to catch on, but give it 3 more years and see then if it makes any difference!

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

Kobo is beating Amazon in Canada and I suspect that is because of the lack of library coverage.

Don't you think that Amazon not having a separate Kindle store at Amazon.ca might have something to do with it too? Are Kindle's available at B&M retailers in Canada like they are in the US & UK?

I'd be curious to know Kobo's market share in Canada and also Kindle's and Sony's, but Amazon never releases that stuff so I'm not sure how we'd know.

[LuvReadin]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

I guess library usage is not a big deal in the UK.

Oh it is, but most people who buy Kindles only find out too late that they don't work with libraries in the UK, and/or the buyers are told/beleve/hope that the situation will change. I help out with an old folks' club, and a lot of them have been bought Kindles by well-meaning relatives, and are bitterly disappointed to find it can't be used with the library (which in many cases was one of the reasons for buying an ereader, so the user didn't have to actually go there).

One of the reasons Kindle dominates the market in the UK is that it seems to be the only one advertised on TV; beats me why WHSmith hasn't pushed the Kobo on TV, but they haven't. To watch TV or read newspapers in the UK, you'd think nothing other than the Kindle existed.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No bookstore guarantees to be able to keep your purchases available forever, Mike, and ePub books are not like Mobi books in needing to be redownloaded for a new device. Being a sensible chap, I'm sure that you have your ePub books safely stored in your ADE library?

Well, not exactly my ADE library if you know what I mean (far too many ereaders to have to bother registering them all).

My point was though, most people only have 1 computer (or a wi-fi ereader), if waterstones go the smiths route and transfer the files to kindle I can see there being a general moan happening.

And if the publishers do go DRM free then I can't see adobe's content servers hanging around for long.

[carpetmojo]

I really really cannot see how this is going to help Waterstones.

In these cash-strapped times, people are much more savvy about shopping around, and I'm sure actual hardware sales won't be significant.

And I can't see ebook sales making a huge leap in cash for them, because not many will buy there, unless they are priced at least the same as Amazon. I don't think the "Store Loyalty" will have much effect - it didn't with me, nor friends who got Sonys from them.

The only way I can see it is as suggested - a fee for every sale from every account opened by Waterstones - but that still means they have to sell the devices originally.

And this wifi in the shops etc.. (all of which will cost capital)to help the digital buying "experience" won't make much - and Waterstones were always well known for their coffee shops and sofas long ago.

No, I'm both mystified and saddened - after all the talk about Amazon being unhelpful for independent bookshops - well I reckon he wn't have to worry anymore now.......

[fjtorres]

One (minor) benefit for Amazon of this deal is they get 300 B&M stores to carry their pbooks in the UK.
If nobody else wants them, they'll be by default Waterstone's exclusives.
It'll be interesting if they'll be doing other B&M deals elsewhere...

[K. Molen]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Don't you think that Amazon not having a separate Kindle store at Amazon.ca might have something to do with it too? Are Kindle's available at B&M retailers in Canada like they are in the US & UK

There not being a Kindle store at Amazon.ca might impact sales, but the first thing you see if you go to Amazon.ca is a Kindle and if you click on it you get taken to the .com Kindle store, and there's no problem buying one from there and having it shipped here. It's all very seamless.

I think what gives Kobo the edge here is that they're available at Indigo, our largest bookstore chain. It being a Canadian reader, it was developed by Indigo, probably contributes as well. There's lots of people with a "Buy Canadian" patriotic streak in them.

I have no idea when Kindles first became available to Canadians, but maybe Kobo beat them to the punch? That would explain some of it too. I'm sure someone here knows.

Kindles are available at Staples here. That's the only place I've ever seen them, but I rarely go to Walmart so they may be available there and elsewhere.

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I'd be curious to know Kobo's market share in Canada and also Kindle's and Sony's, but Amazon never releases that stuff so I'm not sure how we'd know.

According to Ipsos Reid (via Wikipedia) in August 2011 the Canadian e-reader market shares break down like this:

Kobo: 36%
Kindle: 25%
Sony: 23%
Others: 16%

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobo_Inc.

[Synamon]

Originally Posted by K. Molen

According to Ipsos Reid (via Wikipedia) in August 2011 the Canadian e-reader market shares break down like this:

Kobo: 36%
Kindle: 25%
Sony: 23%
Others: 16%

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kobo_Inc.

More recent numbers (link):

The January 2012 wave of the Mobil-ology Study shows the Kobo far out in front with 46% penetration and the Kindle slipping one point to 24%. The big shift comes at the expense of Sony’s eReader, which saw market penetration drop from a category leading penetration in January 2011 to a distant third at 18% in January 2012.

[AnemicOak]

Thanks for the stats, although a survey of only 46,000 Canadians doesn't seem like a very big sampling.

[stonetools]

Some analysis from Time Carmody:

Amazon gets:

For Amazon, the long-term strategy is much clearer. This is about eliminating real and potential e-book competitors by sucking out all the oxygen in the room. Amazon could continue to sell the Kindle at generalist UK retailers like Tesco or John Lewis. But if we assume that the long-rumored partnership with Waterstones and Barnes & Noble was an active possibility (and Daunt's comments suggest that it was), Amazon partnering with Waterstones denies a potential rival a place at the table. (A representative from Barnes & Noble had no comment on the Amazon-Waterstones agreement.)

It's defense as much as offense. Before Microsoft had agreed to feature and invest in Nook e-books, Barnes & Noble's threat to Amazon in the UK was negligble. But a separate, increasingly global Nook business with Microsoft money and a strong partnership with Waterstones? That would be a different story — and one that probably spurred Amazon to reach out to Waterstones with what probably seemed to Daunt like an offer he couldn't refuse.

Waterstones gets:

The best guess right now, pieced together from what little public information there is right now, is that Waterstones gets the following:

1. Profits from the sale of e-readers;
2. A cut of every e-book sold inside a Waterstones store;
3. A chance to cross-promote its print books with e-books, whether sold in Waterstones or possibly even elsewhere;
4. Cash. And quite possibly a lot of it.

Given how quickly the deal appears to have come together, it’s quite likely that the terms are much more favorable, at least on their face, than anything Barnes & Noble had been offering.

LINK