Tolino Shine and Tolino Alliance Market Share: A 2013 Success Story
The 2013 Christmas sales period was not only particularly successful for the Tolino Alliance, but also a turning point in the German eBook market. Thanks to their strong position in brick-and-mortar bookstores, the retail chains were able to significantly increase the market share of the Tolino Shine. For industry observers, it’s clear that the Shine was one of the most important eBook reader innovations of the past year.
However, the question arises as to what the actual market share of the Tolino Alliance really is, as at first glance, there are quite contradictory figures available. In the press release for the launch of the Tolino Vision, the “Tolino” was reported to have a market share of 35 percent. This probably refers to the Tolino Shine – the only eReader of the alliance at that time. Tablets likely played only a minor role. The press release cited figures from GfK. A 35 percent market share is quite impressive, especially considering the short time frame in which it was achieved.
However, that’s only part of the story, as these figures seem to relate solely to the sales during the Christmas period. A few weeks ago, GfK presented general market data at the Leipzig Book Fair, which significantly moderates the mentioned market share.
Strong Leap Forward, Still Plenty of Room
A jump from zero to 12 percent with the Tolino Shine
According to GfK, about 9 percent of Germans own an eBook reader. Among them, 43 percent have a Kindle, followed by the Tolino Shine with 12 percent, while Sony and TrekStor each have 11 percent. These figures paint a different picture and are far from a level playing field. Amazon remains the dominant player, as this distribution suggests.
It is also important to consider that although the Tolino Alliance operates collectively, the retailers continue to compete against each other. The 12 percent market share is divided among Thalia, Weltbild, and Hugendubel (Bertelsmann and Telekom likely play only a minor role), resulting in approximately 3 to 6 percent per Tolino partner. In contrast, Amazon holds a standalone share of 43 percent.
Of course, none of this reflects the market share of eBooks, which does not necessarily correlate directly with eBook reader ownership. Considering Amazon’s vast self-publishing offerings and many affordable titles, the gap might be even larger than it appears.
However, I don’t mean to downplay the success of the Tolino Shine, as reaching 12 percent in just a few months is a remarkable achievement, and congratulations are due to all involved. Amazon has already responded to the new competitor’s presence by repeatedly reducing the price of the Kindle Paperwhite, and eBook.de is also feeling the impact of Tolino’s rapidly growing market share. Meanwhile, Pocketbook has recently introduced a competitor in the same price range with the Touch Lux 2.
For the Tolino Alliance, however, this is just the beginning of a likely challenging, costly, and long journey that they must continue (and undoubtedly will). It’s clear that the retail chains, through their Tolino offering, are reaching a target audience that Amazon has yet to effectively capture, which in the long run could prove even more rewarding than the past Christmas season. Amazon itself has hinted at this by recently highlighting a 30-day return policy on the Kindle product page – something that is standard with Amazon and thus not particularly special.
