Skip to main content

B&N’s New Dutch Sub Does Not Imply an eBookstore

There’s some hot news today that is about to sweep the blogosphere, but I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. There’s more to it than what you think.

Martijn Josse of eReaders.nl found paperwork that Barnes & Noble filed back in December. As part of setting up a local subsidiary, they were required to register it with the Chamber of Commerce and give a description of what the company did, which is:

"The conduct of activities concerning research and development, production, publication, trade, marketing, sales and distribution with respect to, but not limited to, print and digital content, ereaders and other electronic devices and other products and services. "

That’s exciting and all, but it doesn’t directly imply that B&N will open a local ebookstore. Oh, I think they will, but this company registration also means something else.

I asked around before posting this, and I was told that the Netherlands (along with Ireland and Switzerland) were a good location for an American company to register a company; it has to do with taxes. My source had helped set up companies in Europe before and has first hand experience. I was also told that the Netherlands are particularly good for joint ventures; they’ve passed favorable legislation.

That last would suggest that this new sub has more to do with Waterstones and the Wookie than it does the possibility of a Dutch ebookstore. That deal was supposed to happen sometime this spring, but the negotiations haven’t been finalized so the launch date is still up in the air.

Now, B&N is in talks to sell ebooks for Centraal Boekhuis, a major book and ebook distributor in that country. So it does seem likely that B&N will launch the local store. But the subsidiary is also probably involved with the Waterstones deal as well.

eReaders.nl

Similar Articles


Comments


john March 2, 2012 um 1:13 pm

thanks for the insights. informative.


Peter March 2, 2012 um 1:42 pm

Also, there is this new Barnes and Noble job posting on Linkedin:

http://www.linkedin.com/jobs?viewJob=&jobId=2587389&goback=.bzo_*1_*1_*1_%2F4417&trk=NUS_CMPY_FOL-jobt

From Job description:

"the Director, International Finance will support the launch and expansion of our digital business into European markets."

From desired skills:

"Working knowledge and exposure to tax implications; specifically VAT. "


B&N Didn’t Say Much at Their London Event – The Digital Reader March 19, 2012 um 3:02 pm

[…] to irritate everyone with  bunch of non-answers then I would bet they succeeded. Now, I know that B&N has a subsidiary based in the Netherlands, so I had hoped it meant that we’d hear something new […]


Barnes & Noble to Enter German eBook Market? Sources Say: Ja – The Digital Reader March 29, 2012 um 11:52 am

[…] Counsel & Secretary at B&N.There’s no word yet on how this might be related to the subsidiary in The Netherlands, and B&N isn’t talking. Fun, no?Some would say that B&N is going to have an uphill […]


B&N to Sponsor App Zone at London Book Fair – The Digital Reader April 10, 2012 um 7:32 pm

[…] And B&N has even held a workshop in London for developers. And they’ve gone so far as to launch a new subsidiary in the Netherlands.  But I don’t think it’s going to happen at the London Book Fair. My source has […]


Rumor: German Bookseller Thalia to Sell the B&N Nook | Ink, Bits, & Pixels June 12, 2015 um 8:20 am

[…] for the German market, but that was more due to the fact that the B&N's other subsidiary, the one in the Netherlands, was positioned in a more business friendly […]


Write a Comment