Kobo Making Big Moves, With Branded Shops And Self-Publishing On The Horizon
via AppNewser:
Canadian-based eBook retailer Kobo has forged a partnership that will bring branded shops to WHSmith's department stores. Based on some extensive research (Wikipedia) it appears that WHSmith is the British version of Barnes & Noble?
More, from AppNewser:
The Kobo boutiques come after testing Kobo booths in select WHSmith locations. The expanded rollout this year will include Kobo stands in 100 WHSmith locations throughout the UK. Kobo will be selling the Kobo Touch eReader (£79.99), the Kobo Wireless eReader (£59.99) and the Kobo Vox tablet (£149.99) in these shops. The shops will be staffed with tech experts to teach consumers how to use these devices.
Mike Serbinis, CEO of Kobo, said the move will "deliver an engaging in-store experience that will demonstrate our expertise, best-in-class design, easy user experience, and innovative product line.”
Kobo is making some big moves right now, between this, and word from the London Book Fair that Serbinis is talking up Kobo's self-publishing component, which he says will launch this quarter.
Anyone out there use a Kobo eReader?
Can any of our UK-based readers tell us about WHSmith?
And did you know that 'Kobo' is an anagram of 'book'?
News by Rob W. Hart
Rob W. Hart is the class director at LitReactor, as well as the associate publisher for MysteriousPress.com. He's the author of The Last Safe Place: A Zombie Novella, and his short stories have appeared in Shotgun Honey, Thuglit, Crime Factory, and Needle: A Magazine of Noir. He lives in New York City, and you can find his website at www.robwhart.com.
To leave a comment
Comments
WHSmith is the equivelent of a stationary shop that has a book section. These are often prmarily the most popular books and unless the shop is massive, not that great a selection. I'm not a fan of the place, used to work there in fact for two years.
We bought my daughter a Kobo for Christmas and it's been great so far. It wasn't expensive either, which matters because I'm cheap. Kobo offers some decent deals on books too. If you don't buy for a certain period of time, they offer you 25% off most titles. Being the impulsive shopper that I am, this is not a good thing. My daughter has about 50 book on there that she hasn't read yet.