Kobo expands into some old-fashioned things called “bookstores”

When Kobo was bought by Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten back in November, CEO Michael Serbinis said it now had the backing to aggressively compete with the e-reader big boys. It seems he was right: Kobo has just announced it’s venturing out into 100 brick-and-mortar bookstores across the U.K. The plan will see 100 Kobo-branded shops placed inside WHSmith stores, and mirrors moves by e-retailing giants like Amazon, Samsung and eBay. (Of course, Kobo readers can already be found in Indigo stores in Canada since the company began life under the aegis of the super-chain.) We love that a scrappy, inexpensive Canadian tablet is doing so well—but it does make us a little sad that that other one is just limping along. [Toronto Star]