News

Hughes & Hughes to sell Sony reader

01.04.09 | Graeme Neill

Retail chain Hughes & Hughes is to sell the Sony e-book reader in Ireland from tomorrow across all of its 13 stores priced €249 (£229).

Hughes & Hughes c.e.o, Derek Hughes, said that he believed there was still a market for e-book readers despite the economic downturn. He added: "It is a high retail price but as a bookseller we feel it’s important that we are focused on those customers who want to buy them than send them elsewhere to an electrical store.

"Naturally we don’t want to sit on our hands and let Amazon sell the Kindle without offering an alternative. It’s important from a strategic point of view to move in that digital direction."

Hughes said that e-books would go on sale when the retailer launches its new look website at the end of the summer. He added that e-books would be sold on site at recommended retail price, rather than discounted.

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By jo

I can't help thinking they should have waited for the new website to launch: Waterstone's roll out of the sony device was well-planned and made sense: Border's stocking of the Iliad by contrast was muddled and you still can't buy ebooks for it on their site. H&H should have gone more Waterstones, than Borders.

Thu, 27/01/2011 - 13:12
By iamastone

"Waterstone's roll out of the sony device was well planned and made sense"
Yeah right, maybe in the UK it was.
Here in ireland it was a joke, shops were constantly understocked in the run up to Christmas.
Many customers had to go away disappointed to to deliveries not appearing for weeks on end.
Also the price is higher in W:

Thu, 27/01/2011 - 13:12
By friend of rachel worth

"constantly understocked"

I think this says more about the way new products are launched by the supplier than Waterstones. My guess is that sony did what the big electronic device manufacturers do everytime there is a new product at xmas. They under ship to create a "sold out" story which in turn creates a sense of "must have" and lots of publicity and therefore a build up in demand. Sony have done exactly the same thing with all version of the playstation and hand held ps. Feels counter intuitive but seems to keep working. Alas it is the retailer that gets the balme

Thu, 27/01/2011 - 13:12
By jo

I can't help thinking they should have waited for the new website to launch: Waterstone's roll out of the sony device was well-planned and made sense: Border's stocking of the Iliad by contrast was muddled and you still can't buy ebooks for it on their site. H&H should have gone more Waterstones, than Borders.

Thu, 27/01/2011 - 13:12
By iamastone

"Waterstone's roll out of the sony device was well planned and made sense"
Yeah right, maybe in the UK it was.
Here in ireland it was a joke, shops were constantly understocked in the run up to Christmas.
Many customers had to go away disappointed to to deliveries not appearing for weeks on end.
Also the price is higher in W:

Thu, 27/01/2011 - 13:12
By friend of rachel worth

"constantly understocked"

I think this says more about the way new products are launched by the supplier than Waterstones. My guess is that sony did what the big electronic device manufacturers do everytime there is a new product at xmas. They under ship to create a "sold out" story which in turn creates a sense of "must have" and lots of publicity and therefore a build up in demand. Sony have done exactly the same thing with all version of the playstation and hand held ps. Feels counter intuitive but seems to keep working. Alas it is the retailer that gets the balme

Thu, 27/01/2011 - 13:12

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