Amazon’s lineup of Kindle e-readers and tablets have been fairly successful devices for U.S. retailer Target, with the Kindle Fire becoming its best-selling tablet on Black Friday last year. However, a leaked memo has revealed that the company is about to cease carrying all Amazon devices due to a “conflict of interest.” Many believe it’s simply a ploy to boost its sales of Apple devices.
In the internal memo, obtained by The Verge, Target states that it will remove all Amazon hardware from its retail outlets starting this month, while Target’s online store is already completely void of Kindle devices. It will continue to sell certain third-party accessories, but shipments of all Amazon hardware will cease on May 13.
Target’s memo reads:
Target has reviewed our product assortment and has made the decision to no longer carry Amazon hardware (i.e., Kindle). Certain accessories for Amazon product [sic] will stay in the assortment.
According to The Verge, Target’s decision is a result of “a conflict of interest,” but what that conflict of interest could be is currently a mystery. Though it has been speculated that Target could be gearing up to launch its own competitor — a Target-branded e-reader or tablet — many believe that a more likely scenario could involve Apple.
Target is an authorized Apple reseller, and it recently partnered up with the Cupertino company to open up a number of “mini stores” in Target outlets across the U.S. This is known to be a very profitable arrangement for Target, and it could be that this influenced the retailer’s decision to cease selling Amazon devices.
Either way, the Apple camp must be smiling.
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
