Shortcovers, Indigo’s new digital destination promises to give people a new way to discover their next great read. Michael Serbinis, Indigo’s CIO & EVP Shortcovers, shares why and how Shortcovers is designed to be more than just another eBookstore and how readers are responding to this innovative venture in reading digitally.

1. BNC Technology Forum
March 12, 2009

2. INDIGO BOOKS AND MUSIC INC
• Founded 1997
• Currently largest book retailer in Canada
• Core brands – Indigo, Chapters, Coles, indigo.ca
• 2008 Revenues – just under $ 1 billion, EBITDA - $75M
• Leading performance in industry globally on all key metrics
• No debt and strong balance sheet

3. One view of the
future (impact of
reading digitally)

4. Another view of
the future

5. PEOPLE ARE READING DIFFERENTLY
People are deeply passionate about books. People will be
reading and buying physical books for a long time, but….
• We are reading on screens & reading a wider variety of content in
shorter, more frequent sessions.
• We want the ability to access media anywhere, anytime – on
devices we already own
• We expect to be able read a sample for free, and purchase what we
want at the click of a button
• We are looking for a social experience - ways to engage with the
content, the author, and other readers

6. THE MARKET IS CHANGING
• The changes in the music industry are
instructive. Consumption went digital, and user
behaviour changed.
• Ebook growth continues, and recent numbers
look promising
• Inflation adjusted newspaper revenues are at
1982 levels. Existing models are insufficient to
support the industry as it stands.
• New technology, devices, services and market
entrants are getting significant attention from
consumers and the media
• We believe there is a multibillion dollar market
and a global opportunity in reading digitally.
And it’s early days.

7. OUR OPPORTUNITY
Deliver a compelling experience that enables
people to use any device to access, sample,
purchase books, magazines, newspapers –
anytime, anyplace.

8. A new digital destination for people to discover and
experience their next great read on any mobile device

9. OUR OFFERING
A new digital destination for people to
discover their next great read on any
mobile device.
 Instant access to Books, Magazines,
Newspapers and Blogs – any content
 Use the web or your existing iPhone,
Blackberry, Android, etc. – any device,
anytime and anyplace
 Sample, Purchase & Read content in seconds
 Share your favorite reads with friends, family
or create your own Shortcover

10. INSTANT ACCESS TO CONTENT
Shortcovers is the place to find your next great read among the best books,
magazines, newspapers , blogs and more.
BOOKS
Buy ebooks, buy by-the-chapter
•
Read ebooks, ad-supported
•
Buy the physical book from a participating retailer
•
NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES
Coming Soon: Buy the digital edition, a subscription, or
•
articles
BLOGS
Read blogs for free, ad-supported
•

11. USE THE WEB OR YOUR MOBILE
Use the device you already have, the ‘bookstore in your pocket’, or your
laptop to access great content at Shortcovers. Rich applications let you
discover, sample, purchase and read great content. Access your library,
recommendations, subscriptions and share with the community.
• EB
W
Shortcovers.com digital destination
•
Feature rich store with your personal reading list, library,
•
tools for account management and more
RICH MOBILE APPLICATIONS
iPhone, iPod Touch
•
Blackberry Storm, Curve, Bold, 88xx…
•
Google Android
•
Coming Soon: Symbian, Windows Mobile, Palm ,
•
Support for popular Netbooks & new eReaders
Most Popular, Tag Clouds, Go Fish!, Read Related,
Netflix-style Recommendations, Subscriptions and
other Browse by Features

12. SAMPLE AND PURCHASE
Get “into the content” instantly, read a free sample and decide to make a
purchase.
BUY!
Both web and mobile experiences are territory – aware and present currencies,
and title/rights accordingly

13. SHARE AND CREATE
Share on Facebook, Email, Subscribe, Tag, Comment, Rate any Shortcover
or Book. Create or upload your own Shortcover, or create a Mix.
You can even Twitter your friends – web or mobile.
Self service tools to create a
Sharing
Shortcover, set a license, a price,
Toolbox
merchandise and list it
(web)

14. Launch
Feb 26, 2009

15. LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS
WE LAUNCHED 2 WEEKS AGO
Simultaneously on the web, on the iTunes Store Worldwide, on Blackberry, on
•
Android, in Canada and in the US
USERS FROM 124 COUNTRIES VISITED
The Top 10 countries included the US, Canada, UK and India
•
Sign-ups, Traffic and conversion exceeded expectations
•
STRONG DEMAND FOR ALL MOBILE APPLICATIONS
Blackberry, iPhone and Android
•
WE RECEIVED EARLY VALIDATION & LEARNED A LOT
Revenue from all sources: digital sales, advertising, affiliate
•
Thousands of authors/users directly uploaded their works
•
Top Customer Requests
•
“When will you have an app for my mobile device”
•
“Why can’t I buy the Outliers in Russia”
•

16. LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS – CONT’D
“Shortcovers has the potential to become its own network for book lovers” NYTimes
•
“Shortcovers says it will also distinguish itself with features that allow users to read
•
the first chapter of books for free, as well as buy just single chapters of a book at a
time. That could be helpful, for example, if you want just the chapter on one city in
one of those chunky travel guides.” - The Wall Street Journal
“But I suspect the most popular e-book devices will prove to be smartphones, such as
•
the BlackBerry or Apple iPhone. Granted, screen sizes are small and battery life short.
But millions already use these phones to watch movies and play games. Turning them
into e-books is just a matter of writing the software. None of these devices are entirely
satisfactory substitutes for printed pages - nor do they need to be. If you want a real
book, buy one. But sometimes it's better to push a button than to turn a page.” -
Boston Globe
•
“Shortcovers, released Thursday for the iPhone, BlackBerry and the T-Mobile G1,
•
shows promise. It may be the most “readable” app based on my tests.” - Chicago
Tribune
“With Shortcovers, ‘e-books will be available, essentially, on any and all mobile
•
devices, and since pretty much everyone has a mobile phone, that changes the game
completely” - Globe and Mail

17. OUR PUBLISHER OFFERING
 A solution that maximizes reach –
distributing content on any device, over any
network, globally
 Drive digital and physical sales
 Experiment with advertising revenues
 Contact content@shortcovers.com
 We’ll send you an agreement & overview
 We accept epub, oeb, lit, xml, html, doc…

18. SUMMARY
WE BELIEVE THERE IS A REAL, GROWING MARKET HERE
And it’s early days.
•
There are real issues to work out – data quality, meta data, pricing …
•
IT’S AN EXCITING TIME (T + 14 days) AND WE HAVE A LOT
OF WORK AHEAD OF US
Working out the ‘kinks’
•
Going from 20 to 200 Publishers in the next 3-6 months, growing our content base
•
Launching support for new smartphones, netbooks and eReaders
•
Launching ‘stores’ globally with local partners, and local rights
•
Listening to customers & aggressively building out our experience
•
COME CHECK US OUT – I’D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
@ shortcovers.com, iTunes, and soon on other app-stores
•
Let me know what you think - mike@shortcovers.com
•
Get in touch with us about your content - content@shortcovers.com
•

19. A new digital destination for people to discover and
experience their next great read on any mobile device