Target Phasing Out Amazon's Kindle

NEW YORK -- Target Corp. is phasing out Amazon.com Inc.'s e-reader Kindle at its more than 1,700 stores and its website.

Target spokeswoman Molly Snyder said Wednesday that the decision to stop selling Kindles this spring came after an "ongoing review" of Target's merchandise that evaluates quality and prices of the chain's offerings.

The move coincides with the discounter's plan to create mini shops of Apple Inc. products in 25 of its stores this year.

Despite competition from cheaper tablet computers such as Amazon's Kindle Fire, Apple's iPad remains the most popular tablet. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since the tablet's debut in 2010.

Target, which is based in Minneapolis, started selling Kindles two years ago. Target announced in late November that Amazon's Kindle was the best-selling tablet in its stores on the day after Thanksgiving, typically the busiest day of the year.

Target will also stop selling Kindle accessories like covers and chargers.

Snyder declined to comment further about its partnership with Apple, only saying, "We will continue to offer our guests a full assortment of e-readers and supporting accessories."

A spokeswoman for Amazon didn't immediately return calls.

Target's decision to phase out the Kindle is also occurring as the retailer, along with other major merchants, are trying to fight a growing practice called "showrooming." That's when shoppers, armed with smartphones, browse products in physical stores and then shop online for a better price. Earlier this year, Target sent out a letter to vendors asking for help in developing exclusive merchandise and matching rivals' online prices.

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Comments

[aaronrossi]

03:46 PM on 05/04/2012

i'm pretty sure amazon doesn't care one bit about this. i would be interested to know what percentage of their kindle sales comes from target. it's most likely around a millionth of a percent... i've bought 7 kindles over the past 3 years and all have been bought directly from amazon.

[Elana Wilbanks]

03:17 AM on 05/04/2012

soddhvn0

[Fan Tastic]

07:14 PM on 05/03/2012

I've been reading all day on this post "you can't read a book on an iPad in direct sunlight"!

That's as dumb as saying I can't see the screen on my smartphone well enough at night so that I can text while driving!

Gawd people - grow up and get out of the sun, it's just going to give you cancer anyway!

[Cael]

09:40 AM on 05/04/2012

Are you saying, don't read in the sun?

[JoeBlough]

06:32 PM on 05/03/2012

It was dumb to buy a kindle at Target. Buy direct from Amazon.com and save the sales tax.

[Fan Tastic]

07:14 PM on 05/03/2012

It's dumb to buy a kindle.... period!

[StinkyPete0279]

11:47 PM on 05/03/2012

congratulations on making a dumb statement.

[JoeBlough]

12:10 AM on 05/04/2012

I will never be without mine!

[Fan Tastic]

06:10 PM on 05/03/2012

..the kindle reminds me of my entry as a child into the portable cassette tape recorder world with my hunk a junk $49 sony-walkman-wannabe-player from J Penny! Like the kindle, I got burned, but I'm now happy to say that I grew up and got an Apple iPad and I'm living happily ever after.

My advise - GROW UP!

[JoeBlough]

06:30 PM on 05/03/2012

Can't use IPAD in direct sunlight.

[Fan Tastic]

07:11 PM on 05/03/2012

so, since no one should be stupid enough to read a book in "direct sunlight" that wouldn't be a feature anyone with a brain would be worried about!

Does the kinddle clean up the dog poo in your yard too?

[amawesdude]

09:30 PM on 05/03/2012

An iPad is nothing even close in comparison to a Kindle, not even remotely. So your attempt to make a comparison, and ultimately bashing the Kindle, shows your lack of knowledge when it comes to the difference between e-readers, and tablets. Even the top tier Kindle is still a fancy e-reader. The iPad is a tablet. Learn the difference. Of course the tablet is going to be better overall.

[raymondcr]

04:55 PM on 05/03/2012

The ipad 3 gives you white or beige backrounds so it is easy on the eyes. Usually kindle books are cheaper but sometimes apples books like 1963 were less so I buy them at ibooks. The ipad also allows public library ebooks which are free with your library card. So the ipad runs all 3 formats.

I also run I pad apps on my large TV using the $99 i tv cube which you can not do with kindle. This is my first ipad and only my kids have the iphone so I am not an Apple fanatic- I just like retina display and true 1080p on my tv.

The i Universary has audio/video and audio only Yale, Cornell, Standford etc courses for FREE. We use the $79 kindle at the beach because if sand gets into it we are only out 79 bucks. I would rather be in the apple 200,000 app universe than the fire universe if forced to pick one.

Amazon just got too cute withn the in your face showrooming

[nootrope]

04:10 PM on 05/03/2012

Why do they insist on calling an e-reader a tablet? Kindle is not a tablet! It also costs 5x less than an ipad.

Are we going to compare calculators to laptops next?

[videopage]

03:32 PM on 05/03/2012

I can't help but feel that Target's decision to drop selling Kindles was part of the deal they made with Apple, "...to create mini shops of Apple Inc. products in 25 of its stores this year..."

I'll bet that Apple insisted they stop selling Kindles, as a condition of their (Apple's) opening of those mini stores. Nothing personal - just business.

[Luman Walter]

04:06 PM on 05/03/2012

Thank you, Captain Obvious; the city is safe with you on patrol.

[garumphul]

02:55 PM on 05/03/2012

And nothing of value was lost.

I'm pretty sure Amazon aren't exactly crying themselves to sleep.

[Fan Tastic]

02:47 PM on 05/03/2012

why anyone would buy this piece of junk instead of an iPad continues to allude me!

[garumphul]

02:54 PM on 05/03/2012

*ha ha ha ha*

Spoken like a true fanboi.

[Glorax]

03:02 PM on 05/03/2012

Reading off of a glowing screen for long periods of time tends to strain my eyes. Since I work on a computer all day, getting a break from it when I can helps. I own both devices, btw. I read long articles and books on the Kindle, which it is excellent for.

[Durt Bagg]

02:32 PM on 05/03/2012

Target announced in late November that Amazon's Kindle was the best-selling tablet in its stores on the day after Thanksgiving, typically the busiest day of the year.

Because they were heavily discounted. My sister bought one at 30% off.

[WaveRhydr]

03:42 PM on 05/03/2012

Yeah, I bought one then at near half price. Works great, & love it.

[mlambush]

04:49 PM on 05/03/2012

Kindle's? Or Kindle Fires? Because Fires are tablets, the rest are e-readers. And they weren't "heavily discounted."

[fco1922]

02:20 PM on 05/03/2012

Don't think Amazon need worry too much.

[Benhem61283]

02:08 PM on 05/03/2012

I view target as a place to get good quality for decent prices. exclusive deals with apple make me think of a place that gives ok quality for outrageous prices. No thank you.

[GoDogGo]

01:56 PM on 05/03/2012

This is unfortunate. Despite my affinity for Apple's stuff (I find the integration and simplicity life-enhancing) the Kindle is an absolutely excellent product that users love. Why not let them compete on the retail shelves? The "exclusive" contracts like this that retailers must agree to is not a benefit to consumers, particularly if they want to spend less than $500 or have a limited needs for their tablet.

[Jason Blankenship]

02:07 PM on 05/03/2012

Look at the products Amazon sells on their site. Then, look at what Target sells. See how Target might kinda not want to give people an easy "in" to a competitor? I don't necessarily like the fact that they are gonna quit selling them (even though I have an iPad), but I definitely understand why.

[GoDogGo]

03:29 PM on 05/03/2012

I understand as well, it's just not good for consumers to remove choice. And yeah, this is coming from a pretty dedicated Apple user with an iPad...

[rker321]

05:36 PM on 05/03/2012

Apple reminds me of Microsoft, they have gotten too arrogant.

[keifer724]

01:56 PM on 05/03/2012

I don't see how this will affect Amazon too much. Just another reason not to shop at Target. We have both Kindles and iPads in the house (Wife & I Kindles, Kids iPads) Try reading an iPad at the beach. We love our Kindles for reading, the iPads for browsing.