Goodbye, Kindle | Beneath the Brand

TalentZoo.com | Beyond Madison Avenue | Flack Me | Digital Pivot

Archives | Categories

Goodbye, Kindle

By: Janet Kalandranis

It finally happened: one brand doing business with another just broke up. The partnership was beneficial until one brand wanted more and noticed that the other brand may be hindering its future. Couldn’t these brands work together for success and for the benefit of customers? Or was the split actually the answer to putting customers first in the future?

Brands partner with other brands for various reasons. Sometimes it’s for a core competency that each brand has that, when blended together, provides something new and something better. Other times it’s like-minded brands that rally together to enhance a benefit or bring about change in an industry. Whatever the reason, there is always an underlying purpose, and that is to give customers something they can’t get anywhere else. It may seem counterproductive for two companies to bond together for success, but many times this is the only real way to achieve what currently is not available. Oh, and it can save time and money while still bringing new success to each brand.

This partnership is Kindle and Walmart. One is a very well-known tablet reader and the other a superstore with access to consumers — the consumers that want and use the Kindle. Sure, the Kindle can be purchased online, but through this partnership the Kindle brand was able to put the product in customers' hands through the distribution of Walmart. Very smart partnership. Two retail operations (Amazon, the parent brand of Kindle) came together for access, product placement, and ultimately success.

Until one of the brands backed out. There aren’t exact specifics around what went wrong, but the public can assume. It was only a matter of time before Amazon and Walmart could no longer work together — they are direct competitors. Sure, Walmart mentioned that the new line of Kindle products were higher priced than what the brand wanted to offer its customers, but there must be more. One brick-and-mortar retail store, one online store — both successful and both the brand to beat in their space. It was only a matter of time before the partnership had to end. Each brand had to go its own way.

The true competition between these brands begins.