Pushing Fire Sales Outside The U.S. Amazon Says UK Black Friday Kindle Device Sales Tripled Previous Record, Stays Mum On Hard Numbers

Black Friday is not just for Thanksgiving-celebrating Americans. Amazon today announced that in the UK, where it has also been running Black Friday sales, it sold a record number of Kindle devices — triple the previous record amount. As usual with Amazon, it is not giving a hard figure on how many actual units this means, or how many e-readers it sold compared to Fire tablets.

But it looks like at least some of the focus of activity here — at least as Amazon would like it to be seen — is on its Kindle Fire tablet.

On Amazon.co.uk, the Kindle Fire has been discounted to £99 ($159), from an earlier price of £129, “and the reaction has been incredible,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Kindle EU, in a statement. “Customers purchased more than three times as many Kindle devices on Black Friday than on any other day in its history on Amazon.co.uk, and our previous record was impressive.”

Amazon is running the sale — which should see a nice boost in the number of Kindle Fire tablets in use in the UK — until midnight on Monday, November 26.

Although Amazon has been selling the Kindle Fire tablet in the U.S. for a year now, it only started to make its way to international markets in September 2012. In Europe, it is increasingly feeling the heat of competition from the likes of Barnes & Noble, which has also launched its Nook range abroad, signing retail deals with department stores in lieu of having an established network of bookstores as it does in the U.S. to promote it. And Apple has also moved into the smaller-tablet range with the launch of the iPad Mini.

In addition to selling the Kindle Fire online, Amazon is also working with UK bookstore Waterstones to sell the device in physical stores.

Release below.

Biggest Sales Day Ever for Kindle Family on Black Friday: Kindle Sales Triple the Previous Record 

Customer rush to snap up Kindle Fire for just £99 as it becomes the bestselling product across all of Amazon.co.uk on Black Friday

 

Customers can still take advantage of Kindle Fire at this amazing price until midnight, Monday 26th November

Luxembourg – 26th November 2012 – Amazon EU today announced that Black Friday was the biggest sales day ever for the Kindle Family. Sales of Kindle devices were more than three times higher than any other single day in the history of Amazon.co.uk.

Christmas shoppers made Kindle Fire the bestselling product across all of Amazon.co.uk on Black Friday, snapping it up for an incredible £99.

“In response to strong customer demand we included Kindle Fire in Black Friday deals week, dropping the price to just £99, and the reaction has been incredible. Customers purchased more than three times as many Kindle devices on Black Friday than on any other day in its history on Amazon.co.uk, and our previous record was impressive,” said Jorrit Van der Meulen, Vice President, Kindle EU.  “This fantastic Kindle Fire offer runs until midnight, Monday 26th November, so customers still have time to snap up a Kindle Fire in time for Christmas.”

The all-new Kindle Fire, which usually retails for £129, gives customers access to Amazon’s vast selection of content – over 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books and magazines, with seamless integration with the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, and a brilliant 7” touchscreen—a faster processor for 40% faster performance than the original Kindle Fire, twice the memory and longer battery life.

Kindle Fire HD, our most-advanced 7” tablet, provides access to Amazon’s vast selection of digital content and offers a stunning customised HD display with the fastest Wi-Fi, exclusive Dolby audio with two stereo speakers, high-performance processor and graphics engine for the most immersive HD experience available on a lightweight, portable 7” tablet, at a breakthrough price of £159.

Kindle Paperwhite is our most advanced e-reader ever built with 62% more pixels and 25% higher contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, uncompromised battery life of up to eight weeks, and a thin and light design. Kindle Paperwhite Wi-Fi + 3G is the top-of the-line e-reader and offers the same new design and features of Kindle Paperwhite, with the unparalleled added convenience of free 3G wireless.

The all-new Kindle is incredibly small and lightweight, now with faster page turns, improved fonts and parental controls. At just £69 it’s the perfect entry-level Kindle for all readers.