Flipkart may exit e-books business as it tries to focus on physical goods

BENGALURU: Online retailer Flipkart is likely to exit the e-books business as it tries to sharpen focus on retailing physical goods, according to a senior executive in the industry.

The company said in a statement on Tuesday that it is evaluating its e-books strategy and is working toward redefining its digital offerings to customers. The announcement comes close on the heels of the company’s tieup with self-publishing platform Smashwords coming to an end.

Flipkart had tied up with Smashwords in 2013 to sell more than 200,000 e-books through an app under the Flyte brand.

Smashwords had noted in a blog last month that it had “received word from Flipkart that after careful consideration, Flipkart determined their systems are not yet capable of supporting the dynamic nature of the Smashwords catalog. As a result, they will begin winding down the relationship with Smashwords and remove our titles”.