Target to sell Amazon's Kindle in select stores with broader rollout to follow
Summary: Target, a long-time Amazon partner, is going to give the Kindle a distribution hand in a small number of stores with a larger rollout later in the year.
Target, a long-time Amazon partner, is going to give the Kindle a distribution hand in a small number of stores with a larger rollout later in the year.
The retailer said Wednesday that it will carry Amazon's Kindle beginning April 25 
in select stores. Specifically, Target will carry the Kindle at its flagship Minneapolis store where the retailer is based. In addition, Target will put the Kindle in 102 south Florida store. After those pilots, Target will bring the Kindle to more stores.
News of the Target distribution leaked out earlier in the month. Meanwhile, Barnes & Noble paired up with Best Buy to distribute the nook. Leading e-reader manufacturers are bolstering distribution as Apple's iPad hits the market.
The battle should be interesting. As Jason Perlow notes, the iPad just isn't for heavy readers---especially outdoors.
The big question is how big the market is for hard-core readers. With additional distribution at Best Buy and Target we'll find out. Sony already distributes its Reader at retail outlets.
Target and Amazon have a solid history as partners. Amazon has hosted Target.com for years, but the parties are amicably breaking up.
All content and alerts for e-books and e-readers.
More:
- Barnes & Noble, Best Buy ink Nook distribution pact
- Top 10 new e-book readers
- Hands-on: B&N Nook is the king of connectivity and content
- Apple’s iPad vs. Amazon’s Kindle: It’s not zero sum
- Special Report: Apple tablet: It’s an iPad
- Will Amazon cut Kindle prices to $149?
- Apple’s Best Buy distribution changes iPad unit calculus
- Apple iPad vs. Amazon’s Kindle: Consumers weigh the two devices
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Talkback
Could work out very well
I love my Kindle and I hope others will find the same joy.
I agree, I think it's a smart move
For many people, being able to try out the unit before buying is important, and as it is right now, you can only do that with the iPad.
Thats an excellent photo of how bad the screen glare is.
Surprised the hardcore applers didnt eat you alive on this one.
I have a Kindle and an iPod Touch...
I haven't seen an iPad in the sunlight, but I bet it isn't as bad as this photos shows..
RE: Target to sell Amazon's Kindle in select stores with broader rollout to follow
selling books. The Kindle was a way of selling books.
That's where Amazon makes its money. The iPad is going
to have a version of Kindle software that runs on it so
it will still sell those books whether it sells Kindles
or not.
As long as the Kindle has a big enough market to make it
break even, Amazon comes out ahead. I think the whole
iPad vs. Kindle is a non-issue.
Amazon's making money on the hardware
Ultimately they were trying to get enough market penetration to be able to exert pressure on the book publishers to improve margins. However competition from other eReaders, the impending iPad launch, and a stubborn publishing industry had foiled this plan.
At this point they've obviously shifted the strategy. They're looking for market saturation of their software, rather than the hardware. Then they'd ultimately have the leverage they need with the publishers.
The challenge is whether they can outpace Apple on this front. Steve Jobs has already secured some strong alliances with publishers that'll make it an uphill battle.
Amazon's advantage will be cross-platform compatibility. They have more to gain than anyone if other tablets are able to gain market share or if consumers start reading more books on their cell phones.