Kobo Experiences Massive Digital Growth in Q1 2013

Kobo, one of the leading hardware and eBook companies has just posted their first quarter financial results for 2013. They have experienced double-digit year-over-year growth across its device and content sales resulting in a 98% 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 percent of its new user base coming from the US. At the same time, Kobo’s customers are reading 34 percent more in Q1 compared to the same time period last year. They have also added over 500,000 new comics, graphic novels, eBooks into their ecosystem in the first few months of the 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.” One of the big proponents to Kobo’s continued growth is their aggressive international expansion. In the next six months they intend to expand to India, China and Russia. Kobo is estimated by publishers to represent up to 50% of digital sales in established countries like Canada and 20% 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 e-Reader 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 percent increase year over year. The company expects to appease many users of the Blackberry 10 OS, by releasing an official app in June. Kobo Experiences Massive Digital Growth in Q1 2013 is a post from: E-Reader News

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