HarperCollins and Foyles set to bundle

HarperCollins and Foyles have partnered to sell e-book and print book bundles on selected titles.

Foyles will sell eight HarperCollins titles—including Catastrophe by Max Hastings, Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and The Demon Dentist by David Walliams— shrink-wrapped with a voucher inside containing a code to download a digital version.

The e-book versions will be provided by Foyles’ e-book service, Foyles powered by txtr. The e-books will be in an ePub format, and can be read through the free Foyles app or any device that accepts ePub books. Foyles said the price of the bundles will be around £5 more than buying the hardback title alone.

Charlie Redmayne, c.e.o. of HarperCollins UK, said the bundling scheme was a first for a UK bookshop. He said: “HarperCollins is always keen to experiment with getting our authors’ work into the hands of readers in as many different formats as possible. We are delighted to be part of this industry first with Foyles, and are very much looking forward to seeing how readers respond.”

Sam Husain, Foyles c.e.o., said that bundling has been requested by customers in the past. He said: “E-book bundling is something that Foyles customers regularly ask for, so we’re really pleased to partner with HarperCollins to offer more choice and convenience for readers. It will allow customers more flexibility to enjoy hardback books at home and carry the e-book version with them when travelling, or to give books as gifts.”

Earlier this week Amazon launched its Kindle Matchbook bundling service in the US, offering customers the chance to buy e-book versions of physical titles they have already purchased for $2.99 or less. It has 70,000 books in the scheme, including titles from publishers HarperCollins, Macmillan and Wiley.