The Partnership with Kobo Has Formally Ushered Whsmith Into the Ereading Technology Arena

Kobo Case Study
KOBO AND WHSMITH COLLABORATE TO BRING A BEST-IN-CLASS eREADING EXPERIENCE TO THE UK
Next chapter in partnership expands “Kobo Centres” into an additional 150 WHSmith High Street locations across the UK this year – totalling 250 locations
Overview
Country or Region: United Kingdom
Partner Profile
WHSmith offers the biggest catalogue of eBooks in the UK and first touch screen eReader in the market. WHSmith are a market force on the UK High Streets, the first “Book Store” to have an eReader offering.
Business Situation
A venerable UK institution – in business since the late 1700s – WHSmith saw an opportunity to bring eReading, along with eReaders, to its customer base.
Solution
WHSmith partnered with Kobo, making it the first brick-and-mortar bookseller to introduce eReading to UK readers.
Benefits

Opportunity for Kobo to reach over 70% of the UK population with their first to UK market eReaders
The partnership with Kobo has formally ushered WHSmith into the eReading technology arena.
The relationship has fostered an integrated marketing and retail strategy that branches from the in-store experience to online.

/ “The strength of the WHSmith brand, combined with the innovative Kobo eReading platform, has proven to be an excellent solution for the U.K. market. The way people read is transforming and our combined solution ensures that consumers can access the material they want to read in the format they want to read it in. The adoption of the Kobo platform by WHSmith has been a great step towards the integration of physical retail and the distribution of digital content.” – Stephen Clarke, WHSmith
Situation
WHSmith is synonymous with reading in the UK. Founded in the late 1700s, it is estimated that every year 73 per cent of the UK’s population visit the bookseller, and that 91 per cent of the population of Great Britain live within a 20 minute drive of one of WHSmith’s 1,200 stores.
As a leading UK retailer, offering a wide range of products including stationery and books as well as news and impulse items, the company has experienced several evolutions throughout its long history, including expanding WHSmith Travel stores to meet the needs of travellers and commuters.
In 2011, WHSmith recognized that another evolution was taking place: eReading was gaining a foothold with the UK’s most avid readers. As such, the company saw an opportunity to sell both physical books and eBooks, and remain competitive in both spaces. While the company had launched its own proprietary eBookstore, there was an appetite to provide consumers with dedicated eReading devices and free eReading apps.

Solution

In October 2011, WHSmith decided to partner with Kobo, a Canadian-based company that has quickly expanded around the world, bringing its eReading services and technology to Canada, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, South Africa, Austria, Germany, France, Japan, Brazil, and other markets.

The partnership introduced a range of Kobo eReaders to WHSmith’s stores in the UK and Ireland, including the first touch screen eReader widely available in the UK. Additionally, the partnership gave WHSmith customers access to Kobo’s full eReading platform, which offers the biggest catalogue of eBooks in the UK.

“To appeal to dedicated readers, it’s important to offer a complete experience, from device quality to customer service,” said Stephen Clarke, CEO, WHSmith. “The partnership with Kobo has allowed us to do just that.”

In 2012, the partnership expanded when WHSmith opened 100 Kobo-branded experiential shops within its High Street retail locations. The “Kobo Centres” are staffed by a dedicated team of Kobo experts, who are able to guide customers through their eReading experience – from activating Kobo accounts, to choosing the right device for their personal reading styles, to browsing the Kobo eBookstore in search of their next great read. This year, an additional 150 “Kobo Centres” will roll out across WHSmith High Street locations across the country – for a total of 250 locations.

WHSmith stores now offer a full complement of Kobo devices, including the Kobo Arc, Kobo Glo, Kobo Mini and Kobo Touch via its brick-and-mortar stores and through its localized online presence. Additionally, millions of titles are available for purchase via the integrated WHSmith and Kobo eBookstore.

Benefits

Since the partnership was forged, Kobo has had access to over 70% of the UK population. Perhaps as important, the partnership with Kobo has formally ushered WHSmith into the eReading technology arena.

Content sales have risen, and thanks to the new platform the customer base has increased for both WHSmith and for Kobo, its first brick-and-mortar relationship in the UK. In fact, the partnership has been so successful that Kobo has used the WHSmith model as a best practice for implementing eReading at other brick-and-mortar retailers worldwide.

One of the key benefits of the relationship is in the two companies’ approach to an integrated marketing and retail strategy. From launch onwards, Kobo has provided WHSmith with business intelligence, CRM, marketing and sales support, via training for its Kobo Centres. Additionally, both companies work closely together on marketing, including print, radio and television ads, as well as out of home advertising including billboard and subway placements.

“It’s a rare and exciting thing to have the opportunity to partner with a brand as beloved and as ubiquitous in a country as WHSmith is in the UK,” says Jean-Marc Dupuis, Managing Director, EMEA, Kobo. “The openness of WHSmith to evolve its business practices and embrace eReading has provided its customers with a world class experience, and has provided Kobo with a model on which we now build all of our brick-and-mortar relationships. The best part: the story of our two companies has only just begun.”