Wal-Mart To Stop Selling Kindle Products
MIAMI (CNET) — Wal-Mart will no longer sell Amazon's Kindle products, highlighting the tensions between the online and physical retail worlds.
The retailing giant confirmed in an e-mail that it would no longer carry the product beyond its current inventory. Reuters earlier reported the decision.
Amazon declined to comment.
The decision to cease selling Amazon's products comes as the online retailer is eating into physical retail chains, also known as brick-and-mortar stores. With more consumers browsing in stores but making purchases online, retailers face the risk of declining sales -- an issue that has shut down companies such as Borders and Circuit City.
Wal-Mart declined to specify why it made the decision, only saying it "is consistent with our overall merchandising strategy." The company said it would continue to offer other tablets and e-readers.
Amazon offers the Kindle family of products, from the Kindle Touch e-reader to the Kindle Fire HD tablet, on its store. Because it sells it at a low price, there are little margins for another retailer like Wal-Mart. That's one reason Wal-Mart could have stopped selling the devices.
Amazon, meanwhile, likely isn't going to see much of an impact from Wal-Mart's dropping of its products. A vast majority of Kindle sales are made through its Web site.
