New York — Popular online retail giant Amazon.com, on Monday disclosed that it has decided to acquire The Book Depository, a UK-based top online bookseller that catalogs more than 6 million titles and shipping to more than 100 countries.
The British firm “The Book Depositary,” which was established by Andrew Crawford back in 2004, is an online book store that offers more than six million titles in its inventory, claims to offer “the largest range of titles in the world,” available within 48 hours anywhere in the world, and which can be shipped to more than a 100 countries for free.
The site, which is quite popular in Australia due to its low prices and free shipping, was expected to chalk up sales of £120 million ($180 million) for the fiscal year ending in June, according to industry specialist TheBookseller.com. Last year it had an operating profit of £2.3 million, TheBookseller.com said.
Terms of the acquisition, including information on regulatory approvals has not been revealed by Amazon.
Amazon has been campaigning ebook sales as of late, with notable success. Kindle sales began exceeding hardcover sales in July 2010 and paperback sales beginning in January. A mere five months later, Kindle books were outselling hardbacks and paperbacks combined.
However, The Book Depository, on the other hand, is rested on a “Long Tail” business model, noting on its site, “Of the 30 million titles ever printed in the English language, only a few million of these are in print. We are seeking to make available as many of these titles as possible.” For books no longer in print, the UK bookseller republishes them via its own Dodo Press, which has printed 15,000 titles to date.
Crawford said of the takeover:
“With the support of Amazon, we look forward to continuing our growth and providing an ever-improving service for readers globally.”
Moreover, the online retail giant already boasts a dedicated internationally-focused Web site in the United Kingdom, along with Germany, France, Japan, Canada, China and Italy. In 2010, all of those sites each represented 11 to 15 percent of net sales.
“Customers in more than 100 countries enjoy The Book Depository’s vast selection, expedient delivery and free shipping,” said Greg Greeley, Amazon’s Vice President of European Retail, in a statement. “The Book Depository is very focused on serving its customers around the world, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Amazon family.”
On its website, the company sought to hearten its customers that its service and range would enrich after the acquisition by Amazon.
“The Book Depository and Amazon are aligned in wanting to ensure the best possible experience for customers,” the group said. “Working with Amazon we will look to continue to expand our vast selection of great titles and provide even better customer experience.”
“With the support of Amazon, we look forward to continuing our growth and providing an ever-improving service for readers globally,” Book Depository founder Crawford said.
Surprisingly, The Book Depository is one of the fastest growing online book sellers in Europe and offers non-mainstream books. The website has more than a million members across the world.
According to PaidContent writer Ingrid Lunden sees Amazon’s acquisition of The Book Depository as a sign that Amazon “might be trying to beef up its long tail cred with some direct in-house expertise, rather than simply relying on its third-party reseller network.”
Besides, in recent times, Amazon is planning to expand the reach of its online book store across markets and more acquisitions are certainly on the cards for the Kindle maker.