Kobo CEO Michael Tamblyn has confirmed with Good e-Reader that his company will let all staff in their Toronto, Dublin, Darmstadt & Taipei offices work remotely until the end of the year. Kobo is also trying to create some office space in the near future for their staff who want some non-home space to work in.
Tamblyn said “We are fortunate that we can give our staff the choice to work remote for the rest of the year. It isn’t because we’re smarter. It’s just because of the kind of work we do. You can take a laptop home.” Kobo is shooting for 25% of their staff to work at the existing offices within the next few months, or when current guidelines allow it.
Although staff will be working from home for the rest of the year, Kobo is doing huge business. Rakuten said in their recent fiscal results that Kobo has reached profitability, sales are up and during the past three months the company has signed up 2 million new users. It is readily apparent that the global pandemic and the closure of most bookstores across the world are driving up ebook adoption.
Tamblyn commented on this news and said “It feels good to know we can keep doing our job for the readers who have chosen us, and for the authors, publishers and retailers who are unwavering in their love of books and their mission to share them even in the face of so many challenges. It’s an honour and a pleasure.”
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.
