It's interesting that we're seeing a consolidation of big publishing houses, but I still don't see how they deal with the Amazon behemoth. That Justice Dept antitrust case against Apple and the publishing houses is going to have far-reaching ramifications.
I've never heard of them before either. I've known about Amazon since the 90s. That probably can tell you enough about Rakuten's clout in the United States - simply put, they don't have any.
I'm a big fan of Amazon Prime - for $79/year you get next day shipping, and now you can stream movies and TV shows. The selection is limited right now but since it already comes with Prime I find myself using it. Does Rakuten have anything like this?
I don't know about acquisitions, Alison, but I suspect Rakuten will be looking for partners to promote the Kobo e-reader which is key to their global plans. And of course Wal-Mart has just dropped the Amazon Kindle.
On this side of the pond we've also just had the tie-up between two major publishing houses, Random House and Penguin, which is seen as a response to Amazon's market dominance.
Who do you think Rakuten would be wise to buy in the U.S. if they wanted to compete with Amazon on a customer service level? Which other e-tailers or ecommerce sites have such a good rep?
Amazon, which is so big, is amazingly agile. I've shopped there for years and have only had one or two disappointing experiences - through their partners - which were immediately rectified by Amazon. The customer service was as good as if I'd worked with an SMB. From Kindle email support to shopping, I continue to be impressed by their customer service which will be a challenge for a competitor to duplicate, I'd imagine.
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