Just a year ago I reported on the so-called strategic partnership between Mondadori and Kobo in the wake of a more prosaic, but also concrete distribution agreement: beyond the bombastic claims made by the protagonists I could see little more than a decision by Mondadori to make a little cash by hosting Kobo devices on its bookstores, and in return retiring gracefully from the sale of ebooks, giving way to the Kobo store.
I was even wondering whether or not we would be seeing a similar move by the two other online bookstores, IBS and Feltrinelli. Now, one year later, comes the confirmation: Feltrinelli has also decided to withdraw from the ebook market and make its stores and its digital subscribers available to Kobo.
So what is IBS going to do?