Rakuten Kobo is partnering with South African bookstore chain Exclusive Books to transfer its e-book customers to the Kobo e-reading service. Exclusive Books has stopped selling e-books directly from its site, but will continue to offer them as a Kobo partner, directing its online customers to www.kobo.com. The digital migration of Exclusive Books' customers is occurring throughout January.
"We want to encourage people to read more and are pleased to be working with Exclusive Books to offer digital reading to its customers," said Michael Tamblyn, CEO, Rakuten Kobo. "We have been sharing our love of books in South Africa for more than four years now, and will ensure Exclusive Books' e-book customers are able to continue enjoying, as well as expand, their digital libraries."
Ben Williams, Exclusive Books general manager, marketing, said the partnership "will allow us to concentrate on what we do best, namely, curating and selling the largest and widest selection of physical book titles in Africa. Meanwhile, working with Kobo will help us deliver a world-class e-reading experience to our customers who prefer digital books."