Bookeen is a French company that has been making e-readers since 2003, and they almost exclusively focused on selling e-readers in France and, to a lesser extent, Europe. Over the past twelve months, they have had significant financial difficulties and were basically out of money. During the summer of 2022, they owed some hefty amounts of money to their creditors and the company was doomed. Vivlio won the takeover of the assets and activities of Bookeen, at the Commercial Court of Paris, on November 18th, and the deal closed one month later.
Not many people outside Lyons, France, have heard of Vivlio. Guillaume Decitre founded them under the name of TEA, The Ebook Alternative, to offer an alternative to the solutions of the e-commerce giants in the digital book market. In 2019, the company changed its name, created a consumer brand with the official launch of Vivlio e-readers, and launched its digital bookstore with over one million titles, primarily French. The company has around 37 employees, and during the takeover announcement said some Bookeen staff will be joining the company.
This takeover promises many synergies thanks to the complementary activities of Bookeen and Vivlio. The operation will notably allow Vivlio to integrate new talents and a unique experience in France in e-reader design. Vivlio will also be able to perpetuate the activities of Bookeen in the interest of readers. Bookeens’ social media channels, such as Twitter, Facebook, and Pinterest, now have Bookeen by Vivlio as the company’s name.
On the side of Bookeen users, nothing changes. All active Bookeen e-readers and its Notéa digital notepad retain all their functionality, and the Bookeen Bookstore remains open. Customers who have purchased ebooks keep their digital library. Technical, commercial and customer service services will be provided by Vivlio, with the valuable contribution of Bookeen employees. It remains to be seen if Bookeen will ever release another e-reader; likely, the brand will soon be shuttered, and future e-readers will have the Vivlio branding.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.