A woman uses an Amazon Kindle ebook reader on the tube. Photograph: Graeme Robertson
Britain's largest bookseller, Waterstone's, is to launch a digital e-reader to rival Amazon's Kindle within six months.
The high street retailer will make the ambitious leap into consumer electronics before spring 2012, Waterstone's managing director James Daunt told the BBC on Friday.
"We in Waterstone's need to offer you a digital reader which is at least as good, and preferably substantially better, than that of our internet rival," Daunt told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme. "And you will have a much better buying experience purchasing your books through us."
Daunt added that Waterstone's e-reader project was "well down the planning line". He said that the high street chain would look to emulate US books giant Barnes & Noble, which has found huge success with its Nook e-reader. Barnes & Noble announced at the end of August that the Nook had brought in $277m (£174m) in revenues from hardware and digital content sales in the past quarter, a rise of 140%. Amazon dominates the e-reader market with around a 50% share and sold about 3m Kindles in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to figures from research company IDC, but has never released any formal sales figures for the device.
Daunt, a former investment banker, was installed as Watersone's managing director in May, following a £53m takeover deal by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut.
The focus on e-readers comes as most major booksellers, including Waterstone's and Amazon, report that ebook sales are eclipsing sales of hardbooks by volume in the UK and US.
Full piece at The Guardian.
The high street retailer will make the ambitious leap into consumer electronics before spring 2012, Waterstone's managing director James Daunt told the BBC on Friday.
"We in Waterstone's need to offer you a digital reader which is at least as good, and preferably substantially better, than that of our internet rival," Daunt told BBC Radio 4's You and Yours programme. "And you will have a much better buying experience purchasing your books through us."
Daunt added that Waterstone's e-reader project was "well down the planning line". He said that the high street chain would look to emulate US books giant Barnes & Noble, which has found huge success with its Nook e-reader. Barnes & Noble announced at the end of August that the Nook had brought in $277m (£174m) in revenues from hardware and digital content sales in the past quarter, a rise of 140%. Amazon dominates the e-reader market with around a 50% share and sold about 3m Kindles in the fourth quarter of 2010, according to figures from research company IDC, but has never released any formal sales figures for the device.
Daunt, a former investment banker, was installed as Watersone's managing director in May, following a £53m takeover deal by Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut.
The focus on e-readers comes as most major booksellers, including Waterstone's and Amazon, report that ebook sales are eclipsing sales of hardbooks by volume in the UK and US.
Full piece at The Guardian.
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