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English|Kindle is Staying in China, But Will its Success Story Continue?

English|Kindle is Staying in China, But Will its Success Story Continue?
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Amazon’s e-reader Kindle is currently unavailable for purchase on major e-commerce platforms such as Taobao and JD.com in China. Though Amazon has clarified that some Kindle models are merely sold out, there are nonetheless speculations that Kindle will soon exit from the Chinese market.
If you search Kindle on China’s major e-commerce platforms, chances are you could only find stocks from third-party vendors. All Kindle models are not available on Amazon’s own site as well.
【English|Kindle is Staying in China, But Will its Success Story Continue?】Amazon representative had responded to the situation with a statement, saying that Amazon is committed to serving Chinese consumers. “Consumers can purchase Kindle devices through third-party online and offline retailers,” the representative said. “Kindle is loved by our Chinese customers. Some of the models are currently out of stock in China.”
Kindle might boast a good sales performance in the Chinese market, but its utility has been questioned by consumers. Many Kindle owners would joke that their Kindle is only useful when they are making instant noodles since they can put Kindle on top of the cup noodle to prevent heat from escaping.
While Kindle devices fail to provide users with a smooth user experience like mobile apps on smartphones, the content on the Kindle store also disappoints users when compared with the amount of free content on the Internet.
E-reader devices like Kindle seem to be outdated as not many people actually use it. But surprisingly, many hardware makers and content providers in China are investing in this particular line of business.
English|Kindle is Staying in China, But Will its Success Story Continue?
文章图片

Kindle used for covering cup noodles
“Best for covering cup noodles?”Kindle has been a very successful e-reader product in the global market, including the Chinese market. In its home market, a Kindle model was once sold out in less than six hours, breaking records. Since its entry into the Chinese market in June 2013, Kindle has always been the top e-reader brand with an exceptional sales performance.
In 2018, China became Kindle’s biggest market globally. According to statistics from Amazon China, Kindle had sold millions of units in the Chinese market during its five years of operation in China. Kindle China had around 700,000 million books on its platform at that time, which was around ten times greater than the figure in 2013.
A number of Chinese companies saw the potential in e-readers and moved to invest in the field. The surging investment in the sector gave birth to e-readers from companies like iReader Technology, Xiaomi and BOOX, etc. The competition then got stronger in the e-reader market. However, Kindle’s dominance in the market remains intact, which is reflected by its sales records.
Kindle Paperwhite’s fourth-generation model has accumulated over 200,000 reviews on JD.com. In comparison, Xiaomi and IReader’s bestselling e-readers both have around 50,000 reviews. BOOX’s e-reader, on the other hand, only has about 10,000 reviews on the e-commerce platform.
It makes sense for Kindle devices to be sold out in China given the popularity it enjoys in the market.
In fact, some Kindle models are also sold out on Amazon and other e-commerce platforms in many countries. According to pundits, the situation in the Chinese market is not unique but quite common globally due to a chip shortage in the supply chain.
Origin of Kindle's linkage with instant noodles in ChinaIt is worth noting that even Amazon itself has recognized the phrase of “best item for covering your instant noodles”, which was coined by Chinese netizens, by including it in its commercial campaigns.  On March 22, 2019, Amazon uploaded a commercial poster of Kindle on its Tmall flagship store, which said “using Kindle makes your cup noodles more delicious.”

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