John Lewis first retailer to sell Barnes & Noble ereader in UK
AMERICAN book retailer Barnes & Noble yesterday said it has chosen John Lewis to be its first UK partner in the push to sell its Nook ebook readers in Britain.
The department store group will be the first retailer outside the United States to sell the Nook devices across its 37 of its shops from October.
Barnes & Noble announced last week plans to bring the Nook devices to Britain in its first expansion overseas, as it battles with fierce competition from Amazon’s Kindle in the States.
The popular Nook has allowed Barnes & Noble to grab between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of the US e-books market, helping to offset a fall in demand for printed books.
But the book chain said last week that sales of its device had fallen in its most recent quarter after cuts in its selling price.
It did not disclose the pricing for its launch in the UK. John Lewis will sell two of its models – the Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight – which cost about $99 and $139 in the US.
The Nook Colour and Nook Table will not be sold in the UK.