Dangdang, China’s leading online bookseller, is preparing to launch an e-book service at the end of the year in an attempt to stake its claim in the increasingly competitive market.
The company said it planned to offer electronic books for PCs, mobile phones or e-readers, but would not start selling an e-reader itself in order not to compete with China’s more than 15 existing reader vendors. The plan is seen as a test of whether companies can make money from selling content in China’s fledgling e-book market. It comes as Dangdang has revived plans for a long-delayed IPO on Nasdaq.
Dangdang’s planned new platform would follow the business model of book traders such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble or Libri, which make money mainly from selling electronic books rather than e-reader device sales.