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Kobo CEO Says Not Selling Washing Machines Key To Overtaking Amazon
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.'"
Maybe because they're Canadian, I found that Kobo was the only e-book reader was the only one that provided a decent, free, French dictionary. As a native English speaker reading books in French, this is a great feature. I also really like Kobo's interface. Will they be "the best"? I don't know... that's such an American obsession. Maybe they'll just be really good.
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.
They use Adobe's ebook DRM scheme, so I just use ePUBee to yank it out.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
For me the value and Amazon is almost entirely in the user reviews that's why I go there; it's what makes me keep coming back. unless you're huge like Amazon you will have that kind of feedback from users all you really have in the product description and that's it.
Ah but focusing *can* lead to superior results.
A lot of Amazon ebooks that are OCR scans (rather than directly made from author's digital source) are complete junk full of errors. (example: 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene) Now if their "focus" involves having human readers who *like* reading books as a hobby go through the scan and correct OCR errors by referencing the printed book, then yes I would say their focus can make them the best.
I don't know why I am just now seeing it. I've always disliked the name and thought it was meaningless. But then I just realized it's "booK" with the letters all mixed up.
Yeah, claiming that focusing on one thing means you somehow have an advantage at *selling* that thing (vs. providing the "best" product regardless of sales) is pure CEO babble.
Case in point - Walmart. They don't really do anything well except being price competitive and stocking about a quarter million SKUs in one store. Compare to local businesses that usually have great service and do one thing really well. And we all know how that's turning out...
Hmmm... and it is working for them to beat Amazon.
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.
Kobo has an Android app.
Forget the android app, how about Linux access?
A week or two back, after seeing the Iain Banks announcement on Slashdot, I decided it was time to buy "The Hydrogen Sonata" and went to the Kobo store to get it. I don't have Windows or Mac in the house, and use Calibre to talk to my Kobo.
I knew it would have DRM, but figured that Linux didn't have to understand it, as long as the Kobo could. But the Kobo store wouldn't even permit me to download any sort of file at all - it would ONLY work through an Adobe Digital Editions plug-in. Looking on WineHQ the current version of A.D.E. doesn't run on WINE.
Happily Kobo refunded my money, though it took a little doing. I'd rather they sell me a file that can be read on my Kobo, even if not on Linux. It would have seemed to me that the Kobo would generally appeal to the same type of people who prefer the politics of Linux - but they've cut me out of their store.
The living have better things to do than to continue hating the dead.
Yes. I just downloaded a Kobe book - so far, half way into it, I'm finding it a much better experience. Every. Single.Amazon.Book. that I've purchased has numerous, obvious typos. Every single Amazon book that I've purchased has crap for illustrations. They're horribly compressed like they were planning on sending them through a 300 baud modem. Trying to read a history book with crap for maps is unpleasant and unnecessary.
The illustrations in the Kobe book are pleasant, readable, zoomable. The reader is even nicer. Color me impressed so far.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
He likes Amazon's Customer Reviews.
Peter predicted that you would "deliberately forget" creation 2000 years ago...
Isn't it the *publisher* that decides whether or not to use DRM? In which case the distributor (Kobo , Amazon, B&N, Diesel or whoever) have to offer DRM or DRM-free according to the publisher's wishes?
You heard wrong. The estimate is that it will account for about 20% of Amazon's profit in 2013. It is growing faster than the rest of their business, though.
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.
I'm just going to point out a few minor flaws in your argument. In Petco vs Walmart example, WalMart is still only in one industry, retail. This is considered relatively focused as far as the market is concerned. The issue with Amazon is that they've actually diversified outside of retailing such as Video Streaming, Cloud Vending, Logistics (third party sellers and Amazon then distributes), and other smaller segments. So Amazon is not focused. But on the other hand, Kobo is too focused. They only do one thing. But I totally agree with you that they need something amazing to beat Amazon since Amazon has such a head start on Kobo in the market.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is a spectrum of focus. 1. Ultra-focused: Petco and Kobo, 2. Focused: Walmart, 3. Not Focused: Amazon, 4. Conglomerates: 3M, Time Warner.
Corporate Finance basically tells that Ultra-focused companies usually end up in niche positions. Companies like Walmart generally do very well. Amazon will still do OK, because their "diversified" businesses come from core capabilities required to succeed at their core business, ie logistics and excess server power. And then conglomerates generally trade at a discount in the stock market because generally the disadvantages of diversification outweighs the advantages, and individual investors can diversify themselves as opposed to having to invest in diversified companies.
That being said, I don't think Kobo will be able to beat Amazon anytime soon. After all there aren't that many David vs Goliath stories unless there is mismanagement or the "Goliath" is resting on its laurels.
... which are full of fake, paid content. I stick to fiction with a better plot ... on my Kobo.
Um.... did you even bother to check? Because yes Kobo DOES have an Android app, I've got it on both my phone and my rooted Nook Color.
Yes. I just downloaded a Kobe book - so far, half way into it, I'm finding it a much better experience. Every. Single.Amazon.Book. that I've purchased has numerous, obvious typos. . . .
s/Kobe/Kobo/ ... Every.Single.Slashdot.Post ...
We need a "+1 -- nice sig" moderation.
They do have an Android app. They've had it for years.
local businesses that usually have great service and do one thing really well. And we all know how that's turning out...
What great service, and what one thing do they do really well? I've never been impressed with the service obtained at the sort of store that Wal-Mart has killed. Wal-Mart is open 24/7 at nearly all locations. In big cities this isn't necessarily a huge triumph, but - actual example from ca. 2008 - your iPod adapter dies at 8 AM on Sunday, in the rural South, just after the start of a twelve-hour road trip. If you're lucky, there will be a Radio Shack down the road that will open around noon. Wal-Mart? They're open, the nearest one is visible from the highway, and it's only 20 miles down the road, because they put stores in towns of 5000 people. You go inside, get your adapter for far less than the Radio Shack rape price, and maybe even pick up some snacks for the road while you're in there. I don't buy my steak at Wal-Mart... but commodity stuff? Absolutely.
When Amazon started out, big-box stores became a showroom: people would look at that new TV, and go buy it on Amazon.
Now, I go to Amazon to check reviews, but do most of my shopping on specialized vendors like Newegg or B&H Photo & Video. The specialized stores tend to have slightly better prices, or better selections, or better recommendations. Amazon is now my showroom for the rest of the Internet.
I tend to aim for the one star reviews and see what the major gripes are. So long as it is a major gripe that I don't anticipate running into, or at least I think that for the price it's worth the risk, then I'll go ahead and buy it.
For example I bought a cable recently, which had two single star reviews. Both were complaining that the cable was too short. The description said 4 feet. 4 feet is exactly what I wanted, so I bought it, and what do you know, I got a 4 foot cable.
Careful with names containing L slashdot.org/~AiphaWolf_HK slashdot.org/~AlphaWoif_HK slashdot.org/~AiphaWoif_HK
I don't know about you but I like these reviews:
http://www.amazon.com/Denon-AKDL1-Dedicated-Link-Cable/product-reviews/B000I1X6PM
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Digital-Ethernet-Connection-meters/product-reviews/B003CT2A6I?pageNumber=2
http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-K2-Terminated-Speaker-Cable/dp/B000J36XR2