We're slowing starting to get more details surrounding the long-awaited UK launch of Bares & Noble's Nook line. John Lewis will carry the Android-powered Nook Simple Touch and Simple Touch with GlowLight. There's still no word on the Nook Color and newer Nook Tablet, though BN does say the Touch devices will be the "first available." (The new nook.co.uk page still has the more traditional tablets pictured, but it also appears to be redirecting to U.S. content. So take that for what you will.)
No word on pricing or availability, other than to expect them this fall.
Barnes & Noble Announces Partnership with Leading UK Retailer John Lewis to Offer its Award-Winning NOOK® Products and Digital Content
First Retail Partner Announced to Bring NOOK Reading Devices to UK Customers Through John Lewis Stores and Online Beginning This October
New York, New York – August 28, 2012 –Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller and leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products, today announced a partnership with UK retailer John Lewis to bring the company’s award-winning NOOK reading experience and leading digital bookstore to its physical stores and online sales channels this autumn. The partnership with John Lewis, a premium department store brand lauded as “the UK’s leading electrical retailer,” will fortify Barnes & Noble’s newly-announced presence in the UK, and will enable UK shoppers to see, touch and experience NOOK devices and digital content.
John Lewis is the first company outside the US to partner with Barnes & Noble to offer highly sought-after NOOK devices in each of its 37 UK stores and on www.johnlewis.com, with Barnes & Noble’s top-ranked line of E Ink® Readers, NOOK Simple Touch™ and NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight™, the first products to be available. As previously disclosed, Barnes & Noble will also offer NOOK devices and content to UK customers this autumn through its own online storefront, www.nook.co.uk.
“John Lewis is where knowledgeable customers turn for trusted advice on the best products to purchase, and they are a perfect partner to help launch NOOK in the UK,” said Jamie Iannone, President of Digital Products at Barnes & Noble. “We look forward to bringing more choice and convenience to discerning UK customers with our critically acclaimed line of reading devices and expansive selection of content.”
Ed Connolly, director of buying for electricals and home technology at John Lewis, said: “Always first with the latest technology, John Lewis is thrilled to be chosen as the premier UK launch retailer for the NOOK. This award-winning line of eReaders adds greater choice to this expanding category. We think our customers will love NOOK's adaptability thanks to its E Ink display and unique built-in GlowLight, perfect for day or night time reading."
Barnes & Noble, a leader in creating innovative products that provide the best digital reading and entertainment experience, currently offers its digital portfolio in the US in more than 1,300 Barnes & Noble and Barnes & Noble College Bookstores, and through top US retailers. Customers in the US can learn more and experience the product line in the immersive NOOK Digital Shops™ in neighborhood stores, with Always Free NOOK Support in any of its stores.
Echoing Barnes & Noble’s dedicated Digital Shops™ in the US, devices including NOOK Simple Touch and NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight will be prominently displayed in John Lewis electronics aisles throughout the UK as well as its Web site.
The award-winning NOOK Simple Touch – the easiest-to-use Reader with the world’s best, most paper-like reading screen – and NOOK Simple Touch with GlowLight, which adds an evenly distributed and adjustable light that’s perfect for reading in the dark, are both set to launch in the UK in time for the holiday shopping season. Both lightweight devices feature built-in access via Wi-Fi to Barnes & Noble’s digital catalog of more than 2.5 million digital titles – including top-selling UK books, newspapers and magazines – plus comics, exciting NOOK Apps™ and more.
Further product, pricing and availability details will be announced in the autumn. Commercial terms of the partnership have not been disclosed.
