Why Kobo didn't focus only on the U.S., home turf of Amazon - The Globe And Mail

Today's trip into the Catosphere took Panzer to The Globe And Mail site. It didn't take any digging at all for our kitty boy to find a post about ebook and ereader company Rakuten Kobo Inc.'s marketing strategies.

Really smart thinking for humans.

David Israelson says in his post that Michael Tamblyn, President and CEO, attributes Kobo's success to the decision to go global. Early in Kobo's existence the company didn't concentrate on the United States ebook and ereader market for the simple reason Amazon, Apple, Google, and Barnes and Noble were staking their territory there. So while the others were fighting over U.S. digital supremacy, Kobo decided to do global distribution instead. In doing so, the company has grown to number three in the ebook ereader market behind Amazon and Apple. The post includes several interesting facts about Kobo's history.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Smart move to go where nobody else was so they were the first ones there."

Note: This is a h-u-g-e post. Bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins and six chocolate chip cookies (biscuits) for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Kobo

Kobo CEO faces uphill e-book battle against Apple, Amazon

They're number two in e-readers.

Panzer made a trip into the Catosphere today looking for publishing news for you. His travels took him to The Globe and Mail site. After some digging around in the files, he found a post about ebook publisher and e-tailer Kobo.

According to a post by Shane Dingman, Michael Tamblyn Kobo CEO is making plans for the company to develop a bigger footprint in the ebook market in the coming year. Kobo's competitors Amazon (number one in ebooks) and Apple (number two) are both huge with divisions in more than ebooks. Mr. Tamblyn says he wants Kobo "to be the best bookseller." The company is already the second largest manufacturer of e-readers (outpaced by Amazon Kindle).

Panzer says, "You know, Kobo only does ebooks ... no housewares ... no TV shows ... nothing but ereaders and ebooks."

Note: This is an e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s post. You'll need a thermos of tea and at least a dozen muffins for your reading.

To read the post, tootle over to Kobo