Today at the London Book Fair, Canadian based e-reader giant Kobo announced that they will be tailoring their Kobo eBook Store towards select European markets.
Kobo has recently unveiled plans to open up new electronic book stores in Germany and Spain by next month. Furthermore it seems by June new stores in France, Italy, and the Netherlands will receive similar treatment.
The big transition with dedicated versions of the Kobo eBook store in those key markets is mainly to launch local books, magazines, and newspaper subscriptions. For example, if you live in France you will be able to subscribe to local newspapers such as Le Figaro, Le Monde, and Libération.
Kobo currently has over 3 million users in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong where their existing customer base is located. The company currently has over 1.3 million ebooks available to be purchased.
Kobo’s foray into the European market is not just launching a new ebook store, but also localized versions of its Kobo Wireless e-reader. This will insure that books downloaded will automatically be translated to your home language.
Kobo chief executive Micheal Serbinis recently said in an interview that “the European market for digital books is about 18 months behind the market in North America.” and it is the company’s intention to offer ebooks quicker than its competition. It also intends to heavily promote local authors and rising literary superstars.
In the end, Kobo is making strategically the right decision by opening localized versions of the ebook stores in different countries. Many other major electronic book stores only bother with the North American and UK market and it is refreshing to see a company put a heavily emphasis on the wider exposure of literacy and new works of prose.
via Press Release
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.
