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Kobo CEO Says Not Selling Washing Machines Key To Overtaking Amazon

Posted by samzenpus on from the we-do-one-thing-we-do-it-very-well-and-then-we-move-on dept.

DavidGilbert99 writes "Kobo, the Canadian-based ebook company is number two in the market, behind the behemoth that is Amazon. So what does the CEO Michael Serbinis think is the one thing which will allow them to overtake the e-commerce giant? 'We don't sell any washing machines, we don't sell radios. We are not focused on the next server farm to offer data services. It is a question of focus.' Serbinis goes on to tell IBTimes UK: 'From an organization standpoint at Kobo, this is all we do. Everyone at Kobo, all we focus on is creating a great experience for book-lovers.'"

9 of 207 comments (clear)

  1. Focus all you want... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    Doesn't mean you'll be the best at it.

    1. Re:Focus all you want... by NoKaOi · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Except that's just not how the market work. Focusing might sound good on the surface, but in reality it's not going to be the most successful. It might even be better for the customers that it has, but it's not going to make more money. First off, if you can buy everything from one place then you are used to and comfortable with buying stuff from that place, so a vast majority of people will buy stuff from that store. Who do you think sells more dog food in America, Petco or WalMart? Secondly, if you're a company with more revenue streams, you have more resources to develop new products, and you have more resources to hold yourself up between the time you release those products and the time you actually start making a profit off of them.

      You can argue that Kobo's focusing could lead to better results in terms of user experience, but they aren't going to beat Amazon in terms of market share unless they really come up with something consumers think is unique and amazing.

    2. Re: Focus all you want... by Nerdfest · · Score: 4, Insightful

      ... which are full of fake, paid content. I stick to fiction with a better plot ... on my Kobo.

    3. Re:Focus all you want... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I think you'll find the typos are actually Amazon inserting a digital fingerprint in every copy downloaded. I noticed it a while back and checked a book against a friends device that had the same book - the typos were not in the same place.

      I'm guessing the idea is that if you somehow steal a book out of Kindle / Kindle app then they'll know who did it

  2. No Android App by swillden · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I won't even seriously consider them until I can read their books on my tablet and phone. I was an early adopter of eBooks, buying my first Rocket eBook reader back around 1998, so I don't have anything against dedicated devices, but there's no longer any need, and I already carry a phone and a tablet which both work great as eBook readers... and with all three of the eBook reader apps I use I can even bounce back and forth between devices, reading on my tablet when it's handy or on my phone when the tablet isn't nearby.

    --
    Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
  3. Except its a lie. by tuppe666 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Kobo Inc is owned Rakuten...who are Rakuten you may ask. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakuten Among its numerous online properties, its flagship B2B2C e-commerce platform Rakuten Ichiba is the largest e-commerce site in Japan and among the world’s largest by sales...in case you were wondering.

    Because I know you want to know http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&tl=en&u=rakuten.co.jp this is the washing machines they sell.

    1. Re:Except its a lie. by ikaruga · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That doesn't mean that Kobo sells washing mashines. That is like saying that Youtube, which is owned by Google, provides a internet search engine.

  4. B&N Doesn't Sell Washing Machines Either by joelsherrill · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Hmmm... and it is working for them to beat Amazon.

  5. Slashvertisment by GoChickenFat · · Score: 1, Insightful

    um...never heard of Kobo until now. #2, yeah right.