The Malaysian Insider :: Books
The Malaysian Insider :: Books |
| Amazon wins EU e-book pricing battle with Apple Posted: 13 Dec 2012 03:49 AM PST  A box from Amazon.com is pictured on the porch of a house in this file photo. European Union regulators ended an antitrust probe into e-book prices today. – Reuters pic The decision hands online retailer Amazon a victory in its attempt to sell e-books cheaper than rivals in a fast-growing market publishers hope will boost revenue and customer numbers. Reuters first reported in November that the Commission was accepting the settlement offer. The European Commission said today the concessions from Apple and the publishers soothed concerns that their pricing deals curbed competition. "The commitments proposed by Apple and the four publishers will restore normal competitive conditions in this new and fast-moving market, to the benefit of the buyers and readers of e-books," EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said. Apple and the publishers offered to let retailers set prices or discounts for a period of two years, and also to suspend "most-favoured nation" contracts for five years. Such clauses bar publishers Simon & Schuster, News Corp. unit HarperCollins, Lagardere SCA's Hachette Livre and Verlagsgruppe Georg von Holtzbrinck, the owner of German company Macmillan, from making deals with rival retailers to sell e-books more cheaply than Apple. The agreements, which critics say prevent Amazon and other retailers from undercutting Apple's charges, led to the EU antitrust investigation in December last year. Pearson Plc's Penguin group, which is also under investigation, was not part of today's settlement. The Commission said Penguin had offered concessions expected to resolve the matter with the competition authorities. Companies found guilty of infringing EU rules can be fined up to 10 per cent of their global sales, which in Apple's case could reach US$15.6 billion, based on its 2012 fiscal year. UBS analysts estimate e-books account for about 30 per cent of the US book market and 20 per cent of sales in Britain but are minuscule elsewhere. Amazon charged US$9.99 per book when it launched its Kindle e-reader. Apple's agency model let publishers set prices in return for a 30 per cent cut to the maker of iPhone and iPad. According to Albert Greco, a professor at Fordham University, Amazon's share of the US e-book market reaches 65 per cent, ahead of Barnes & Noble's 27 per cent share. HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster and Hachette have settled with the US Department of Justice in a similar investigation but Apple, Penguin Group and Macmillan have not. – Reuters |
| Amazon launches Kindle store in China, could pave way for Kindle Posted: 13 Dec 2012 03:01 AM PST  The Kindle Fire is seen in this file photo. Amazon.com Inc has launched a Kindle store for China, the company said Thursday. – Reuters pic The launch of the store could pave the way for a roll-out of Amazon's Kindle device that has already received authorisation from China's radio regulator. Amazon's spokesman, Billy Huang, declined to comment on when the Kindle device would be sold in China. China's e-reader market is dominated by Hanwang Technology e-readers and Shanda Cloudary's Bambook, but many Chinese people buy Kindles from overseas. "It seems like there is pent-up demand for Amazon's Kindle," said Mark Natkin, managing director of Beijing-based technology firm Marbridge Consulting. "Amazon is a well-regarded brand both in terms of quality of its products and in terms of its service," Natkin said. Amazon's Kindle store will compete with E-commerce China Dangdang Inc and 360buy, both of which have platforms to sell e-books. In June, four Kindle models, including the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire and as well as one Kindle keyboard, received approval from the State Radio Regulation of China, the regulatory body for radio and wireless products. Amazon's former China chief said this year that the company was in talks with Chinese publishers on content deals and hoped to launch the Kindle within two years. – Reuters |
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