Kobo’s Bet to Double Down on Passionate Booklovers Pays Off
Kobo’s Bet to Double Down on Passionate Booklovers Pays Off: Q1 Ereader Sales up 145% Year Over Year
Limited edition Kobo Aura HD
accounts for more than 1 in 4 Kobo eReaders sold at
retail
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, May 29, 2013 – Kobo, a global leader in eReading, overnight announced double-digit Q1 year-over-year growth across its device and content sales resulting in a 98 per cent growth in revenue. In the first quarter, the company grew its user base by 2.5-million Readers bringing its total registered users to 14.5-million with 15 per cent of its new user base coming from the US. At the same time, Kobo’s customers are reading 34 per cent more in Q1 compared to the same time period last year.
“This is a massive $250-billion market and still in the early days of a 25-year transformation,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo. “At Kobo, we’re focused on people who are passionate about reading, who love books, who want an experience that lets them get lost in words. Our commitment to delivering the best content, devices and overall experience anywhere in the world is attracting more Readers than ever before.”
The limited edition Kobo Aura HD, launching 1 June in Australia, exemplifies the climbing eReader category and Kobo’s international trajectory. Named by the Wall Street Journal as “The Best eReader” which “rivals the printed page,” the Kobo Aura HD priced at $279.99 NZD has accounted for up to 27 per cent of Kobo devices sold at retail with more than 50 per cent of those customers being new to Kobo in the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Italy and Germany.
CONTENT IS KING, AND
CONTINUES TO GROW
Kobo’s eBookstore continues to
grow with more than 500,000 new titles already added this
year and with new children’s, manga, graphic novels and
magazine categories arriving this summer. From international
bestsellers like Dan Brown’s Inferno and Khaled
Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed, to independent
authors published through Kobo Writing Life, Kobo seeks to
meet the unique needs of its customers across 190 countries
reading in 68 languages.
The top five selling titles
in New Zealand this year include; Lee Child’s, Deep Down (A Jack Reacher
short story), Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, Jodi Picoult’s The Storyteller,
Maeve Binchy’s Full House and Yann Martel’s Life Of
Pi.
Since its launch less than a year ago, Kobo
Writing Life has firmly established itself as a
launching pad for authors by empowering them to quickly
publish their work to an international audience. Tens of
thousands of authors from 124 countries have self-published
in 54 languages using Kobo Writing Life and there are
currently more than 100,000 Kobo Writing Life titles
available for purchase on Kobo.com. Sales of Kobo Writing Life
titles now make up 10 per cent of Kobo’s revenue with 10
per cent of the top 50 bestseller list comprised on
independent authors.
“By making it easier for publishers and authors to publish new and back-listed titles we are broadening the scope of content we are able to bring to Readers around the world,” said Mark Lefebvre, Director Self-Publishing and Author Relations, Kobo. “By innovating within the platform, Kobo delivers the most author-centric, intuitive and flexible interface available on the market today.”
GLOBAL STRENGTH, LOCAL
EXPERIENCE
A unique differentiator for the company,
Kobo continues its efforts to work together with publishers,
authors and booksellers of all sizes to advance the
transformation of print to digital in mutually beneficial
relationships. Its independent bookseller network now
includes the American Booksellers Association, Booksellers
Association in the UK, and the New Zealand Booksellers
Association and together with its territory partners, the
Kobo eReading experience is now delivered through more than
17,600 retail locations around the world.
The company, which will expand to India, China and Russia, intends to continue its successful track record which has seen the company capture significant international share in the competitive eBook market. For example, Kobo is estimated by publishers to represent up to 50 of digital sales in established countries like Canada and 20 per cent in new markets such as France, Italy, Australia, New Zealand and Brazil.
"New countries or established ones, we go where the readers are. That's what drives us," said Michael Tamblyn, Chief Content Officer, Kobo. "And in each country we enter, we strive to give them a reading experience filled with the best local authors and publishers, in partnership with the best retailers, constantly pushing the boundaries of what reading can be."
With its eReading devices available across North America at www.kobo.com, Kobo’s experience is further made accessible with its iOS and Android apps. In Q1, the Kobo Android app was downloaded millions of times resulting in a 378 per cent increase year over year. The company expects to launch its eReading app for BlackBerry BB10 in June.
About Kobo
Inc.
Kobo Inc. is one of the world’s
fastest-growing eReading services offering more than
3.5-million eBooks, magazines and newspapers to millions of
customers in 190 countries. Believing that consumers should
have the freedom to read any book on any device, Kobo
provides consumers with a choice when reading. From its
Family of eReaders, which includes the Kobo Touch™, Kobo
Mini, Kobo Glo, Kobo Aura HD and Kobo Arc, to its free,
top-ranked eReading applications for Apple®, BlackBerry®,
Android®, and Windows® products, Kobo ensures the next
great read is just a page-turn away. Headquartered in
Toronto and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten, Kobo eReaders can
be found in major retail chains across the globe. For more
information, visit www.kobo.com.
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