Waterstones signs Kindle deal
High street bookseller Waterstones has signed a commercial agreement with Amazon to launch new e-reading services and Kindle digital devices through its UK shops.
Waterstones said the digital initiatives will build on the retailer’s on-going investment plan to upgrade its 30-year-old retail chain. This incorporates a major refurbishment programme and initiatives such as dedicated digital areas, free wi-fi access and new coffee shops.
The retailer added that the decision to extend digital reading to its customers will complement and strengthen the traditional attributes of its bookshops to which the company “remains fundamentally committed”.
James Daunt, Waterstones managing director, explained: “At Waterstones we are committed to improving our bookshops quite radically to offer the best possible book buying experience. It is a truly exciting prospect to harness also the respective strengths of Waterstones and Amazon to provide a dramatically better digital reading experience for our customers.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!“The best digital readers, the Kindle family, will be married to the singular pleasures of browsing a curated bookshop. With the combination of our talents we can offer the exceptional customer proposition to which we both aspire.”
Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO, said: “Waterstones is the premier high street bookseller and is passionate about books and readers – a dedication that we share deeply. We could never hope for a better partner to bring together digital reading and the physical bookstore.”
Waterstones operates around 300 bookshops across the UK.
