Atomic Fez E-Books to be Sold via "Kobo" in USA, EU, HK, and AUZ/NZ
Posted by Ian in Announcements, Books, Business
Thanks to today’s announcement about “Shortcovers” changing its name to “Kobo Books”, Atomic Fez Publishing’s e-book titles will be sold throughout the world including the USA, Canada, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
The previously named “Shortcovers” also announced that it has formally spun out from parent company Indigo Books & Music, and will now operate under the name “Kobo, Inc.” Recently, Kobo raised $16 million [$CAD] from majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music; the U.S.-based Borders Group, Inc.; Instant Fame, a subsidiary of Cheung Kong (Holdings), Limited; and REDgroup Retail Pty, Ltd., which has retail interests in Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore.
“We have assembled a strong syndicate of investors and partners across key categories: retail and mobile distribution. We have a unique opportunity to power the e-Reading revolution by reaching consumers everywhere they shop today, on any device they choose,” said Michael Serbinis, Chief Executive Officer of Kobo.
According to Forrester Research, Inc., e-Book content sales are up 176 percent in 2009. In 2010, these sales are expected to top $500 million in the USA alone. Mr. Forrester also sees a global e-Book opportunity for the firm based on another recent Forrester survey of consumers in the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Today, Kobo’s e-Reading service includes support for leading smartphones, desktops and dedicated e-Readers. Since its inception in February 2009 – while operating as Shortcovers – more than one million e-Reading apps have been downloaded by users from over 200 countries worldwide. Kobo will extend from that platform’s foundation by launching additional smartphone support, desktop and tablet apps, and its own dedicated e-Reader devices (but was entirely ‘mum’ regarding any specifics of the hardware).
With a catalogue of over two million e-Books, and an open platform, Kobo enables retailers, device manufacturers and mobile operators to bring the joy of e-Reading to customers everywhere.
Kobo has relationships with thousands of publishers in addition to Atomic Fez, and is actively adding book, newspaper and magazine publishers worldwide. Kobo’s catalogue of digital content will give users access to over two million books, with bestsellers starting at $9.99 [$US] and – with yesterday’s announcement of a strategic partnership with the Internet Archive’s “BookServer” Project – over 1.8 million free books. All of Atomic Fez’s titles, no matter their popularity, have been priced at $9.99 through the Kobo platform; a decision which was made to provide books to anyone at a fair price, no matter what format the book was in: paper or electronic.
World-Wide Market Coverage
Through its new strategic partners, Kobo has distribution in Canada, the USA, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and other territories. It is expected that the United Kingdom and the European Union will be fully served by the end of 2010. Core to Kobo’s strategy is making e-Reading available through partners everywhere and, as such, the company will be working to enable a broad range of retailers, device manufacturers, and operators who will benefit from this leading eReading service.
 |
 |
The Proprietor of Atomic Fez, Ian Alexander Martin, reacted to the news positively, seeing great things for the developing market. “The customers for books are actively seeking out different books recommended by friends, co-workers, and through social networking sites whether they’re book-related or not. People are relying less-and-less on large advertising campaigns. Kobo making a larger variety of what was once thought to be ‘niche’ or ‘cult’ content is something that readers, writers, and publishers such as myself can only support as a ‘very good thing’ every time something like this moves us forward. This will make some fiction available to areas of the world that may never have been exposed to it otherwise; whether they want it or not!” He delivered his last comment with a chuckle, pointing out that Rhys Hughes’s novel Twisthorn Bellow “couldn’t be accused of being ‘conventional story-telling’”.
Extending distribution south of the World’s longest un-defended border to the American market, the Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) has joined the Kobo team. Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the Borders Group is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 persons throughout the USA, primarily in its Borders® and Waldenbooks® stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com.
“Our vision for a digital strategy that’s right for Borders is taking shape today through our investment in Kobo,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “Powered by Kobo, we’ll launch a new e-Book store on Borders.com and make Borders-branded mobile applications available to our customers, including our 35 million ‘Borders Rewards’ loyalty program members. Borders shares Kobo’s vision to provide any e-Book on any device and we look forward to working closely with Kobo on content and distribution.”
In the Antipodes, Kobo will allow customers to purchase and download eBooks and eContent directly from REDgroup’s transactional websites: Angus & Robertson, an Australia-wide bookstore chain with the largest market share; Borders, an experience-based bookstore in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore; and Whitcoulls, a nationwide book and stationery chain in New Zealand. REDgroup expects to launch Kobo via its online platform by May 2010.
“REDgroup’s partnership with Kobo will help us make eBooks and other eContent available for our customers across our popular brands,” said Group Managing Director, David Fenlon. “We’re committed to delivering the best possible range and experience for our customers whether they’re shopping online or in-store. e-Books and e-Content are a great way to expand and improve our offering. We’re very pleased to be partnering with Kobo on this important new platform for our business.”
In Hong Kong, Kodo will be brought to the people through Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. A property development and strategic investment company headquartered in Hong Kong, Cheung Kong Holdings is the flagship of the Cheung Kong Group, and one of Hong Kong’s leading multi-national conglomerates. Cheung Kong is one of the largest developers in Hong Kong of residential, commercial and industrial properties, and the largest shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, holding a 49.97% interest. The company also has substantial interests and operations in life sciences and other businesses. Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. is a constituent stock of the Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Chairman of Cheung Kong (Holdings) is Mr. Li Ka Shing (李嘉誠), with his elder son, Mr. Victor Li, the Managing Director and Deputy Chairman. For more information about the company, visit www.ckh.com.hk
Entries (RSS)