The following story from The Bookseller will be of particular interest to those who have attended the recent seminars on digital publishing.

Hughes & Hughes to sell Sony reader
01.04.09 Graeme Neill reporting for The Bookseller

Retail chain Hughes & Hughes is to sell the Sony e-book reader in Ireland from tomorrow across all of its 13 stores priced €249 (£229).

Hughes & Hughes c.e.o, Derek Hughes, said that he believed there was still a market for e-book readers despite the economic downturn.

He added: "It is a high retail price but as a bookseller we feel it’s important that we are focused on those customers who want to buy them than send them elsewhere to an electrical store.
"Naturally we don’t want to sit on our hands and let Amazon sell the Kindle without offering an alternative. It’s important from a strategic point of view to move in that digital direction."

Hughes said that e-books would go on sale when the retailer launches its new look website at the end of the summer. He added that e-books would be sold on site at recommended retail price, rather than discounted.