Over the last decade, three companies, namely Amazon, Rakuten and Vivlio, have been constructing full-fledged ebook ecosystems with devices, apps and digital bookstores that seamlessly integrate. Although Amazon’s Kindle is the obvious leader and Rakuten’s Kobo serves as a challenger, Vivlio, a small European company, has been building an open alternative to these tech giants. Vivlio’s distinct strategy and unique goals have enabled it to compete with these industry giants, despite having only 35 employees.
Vivlio was established in 2011, shortly after Kobo released its first ebook reader. Initially a side project of Decitre, a Lyon-based bookstore chain, Vivlio differed from its peers by aspiring to create a bookstore-agnostic ebook platform. The entry of Cultura, a major bookseller in France, as a shareholder facilitated the company’s goal of building a European coalition of similar business interests. The company also formed partnerships with small and large chain bookstores to operate their ebook stores.
Uniquely, Vivlio guarantees that the customer remains the bookseller’s customer, rather than becoming a Vivlio customer, and leaves the majority of the sales margin to the retailer. Additionally, the company provides its own ebook readers, partnering with PocketBook and contributing to the development of an open-source DRM solution. Vivlio now has three ebook readers in its lineup, including the entry-level Vivlio Light e-reader, which I have tested and found to be an exceptional reading device.
Vivlio positions itself as a neutral player in the ebook industry and has attracted partnerships and minority shareholders from a variety of industry segments. The company acknowledges that it will never reach the scale of Amazon or Rakuten, but it has hundreds of thousands of active users and considerable room for growth. Vivlio’s differentiated positioning and strategic approach make it an interesting business case in the competitive ebook market.