Most commentators and observers expected Waterstones to do a deal with Barnes & Noble to sell the nook.
That deal made sense – as a US-only retailer B&N are no immediate threat to Waterstones’ retail business.
This deal seems more akin to Sainsbury’s announcing they’ve invited Tesco to setup web terminals in their stores linked to Tesco.com, allowing customers to come in and browse and then pop online and buy from their friendly competitor.
But while we’re all probably rushing to form opinions with insufficient detail its’s hard not to lament the paucity of technical leadership on the UK high street – both of our leading booksellers are now reselling foreign-owned ereaders and their ecosystems in return for a few crumbs from the table.
