Amazon to enter Brazil with digital-only content
updated 10:44 pm EDT, Sun July 1, 2012
Digital store would minimize tax burden
Amazon is planning to set up a digital bookstore in Brazil during the fourth quarter of this year. Sources familiar with the plan tell Reuters that the digital retail giant is looking to make a big push with its Kindle e-reader and other Portuguese language digital products. This move would represent Amazon's third foray into emerging markets, following earlier moves into China and India.
Amazon has been meeting with local book publishers in person and through video conferences over the past few months in order to negotiate contracts. The company believes that its Kindle could quickly grab up to 90 percent of Brazil's ebook market, as many Brazilians already download content from its site and place it on other e-readers. Amazon has signed contracts with 30 Brazilian publishers and looks to build a catalog of 10,000 electronic books before the fourth quarter.
Sources claim that the ebooks will be priced at about 70 percent of their cover price, yielding a 40 to 50 percent profit margin. The new digital outlet is expected to debut some time around October or November.
