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Japanese giant Rakuten buys Kobo ebook business | Japanese giant Rakuten buys Kobo ebook business |
(about 14 hours later) | |
Japan's biggest internet retailer is taking over the ebook firm Kobo. | Japan's biggest internet retailer is taking over the ebook firm Kobo. |
Rakuten already sells another digital reader in Japan: the Raboo, which is made by Panasonic. | Rakuten already sells another digital reader in Japan: the Raboo, which is made by Panasonic. |
The $315m (£198m) acquisition is designed to help it become one of the biggest players in the ebook industry. | The $315m (£198m) acquisition is designed to help it become one of the biggest players in the ebook industry. |
The company also hopes to use Kobo and its popular book-themed social network to expand its other services. Rakuten operates travel, banking, e-commerce, sports and media divisions. | The company also hopes to use Kobo and its popular book-themed social network to expand its other services. Rakuten operates travel, banking, e-commerce, sports and media divisions. |
"We feel that an ebook reader will ultimately not be only about selling books," Rakuten executive Pierre Kosciusko-Morizet told the BBC. | |
"It's about potentially selling other digital goods and it's also about being in consumers' homes with a hardware device." | "It's about potentially selling other digital goods and it's also about being in consumers' homes with a hardware device." |
Kobo's upcoming Vox reader is a seven-inch colour Android tablet. That offers its new owner an opportunity to sell other forms of media, setting it up as a rival to Amazon's Kindle Fire. | Kobo's upcoming Vox reader is a seven-inch colour Android tablet. That offers its new owner an opportunity to sell other forms of media, setting it up as a rival to Amazon's Kindle Fire. |
It can also run Kobo's book-based social network, which can be used to build brand loyalty. | It can also run Kobo's book-based social network, which can be used to build brand loyalty. |
"Definitely the ebook market is not just for ebooks, it probably means going towards other stuff" said Mr Kosciusko-Morizet. | "Definitely the ebook market is not just for ebooks, it probably means going towards other stuff" said Mr Kosciusko-Morizet. |
"We think the price battle is going to be quite strong and so it's even more important to be strong in that battle." | "We think the price battle is going to be quite strong and so it's even more important to be strong in that battle." |
Relationships | Relationships |
Rakuten has also bought three European online retailers over the past two years: The British store Play.com, France's Price Minister and Germany's Tradoria. | Rakuten has also bought three European online retailers over the past two years: The British store Play.com, France's Price Minister and Germany's Tradoria. |
That potentially puts it into conflict with two high street chains that sell Kobo's devices - the UK's WH Smith and France's Fnac. | That potentially puts it into conflict with two high street chains that sell Kobo's devices - the UK's WH Smith and France's Fnac. |
However, Rakuten believes this their relationship will not change. | |
"We feel that being only online makes it difficult to be a big player in the market, and moreover it is probably a market where you need to be one of the top three or two players," said Mr Kosciusko-Morizet. | |
In return for in-store sales of its devices, Rakuten will continue to share locally-generated revenues from its online book sales. | In return for in-store sales of its devices, Rakuten will continue to share locally-generated revenues from its online book sales. |
"The sale of Kobo has no impact on our partnership. The increased investment and global scale will only improve our overall offering," said a spokeswoman for WH Smith. | "The sale of Kobo has no impact on our partnership. The increased investment and global scale will only improve our overall offering," said a spokeswoman for WH Smith. |