Pinto E-book celebrates 2 years with Ookbee partnership

August 29, 2024August 28, 2024 Anucha Kasun

Pinto E-book, the online bookstore platform from Storylog, announces its position as the leading platform within the Ookbee Group, spearheading the e-book market. Pinto E-book will replace Ookbee.com as the primary platform for e-book sales and is encouraging users to migrate to Pinto E-book for enhanced functionality and additional benefits tailored to digital-age readers. In response to the rapidly growing e-book market, Pinto E-book reveals the Top 5 best-selling book categories and highlights four key strengths that have helped it gain popularity among readers. Additionally, Pinto E-book is committed to building a robust content business ecosystem, ensuring all stakeholders — readers, writers, and publishers — enjoy maximum benefits and can grow together sustainably.

Kawita Puksai, CEO of Storylog, revealed that the global e-book market has seen continuous growth. Between 2018 and 2022, the market value increased from 763 billion baht to 1.07 trillion baht in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 7.1%. In Thailand, the e-book market has also experienced significant growth, rising from 2.96 billion baht in 2017 to 5.705 billion baht in 2022, with an average annual growth rate of 14%. Notably, in 2022, the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) reported that the e-book market grew by 20% compared to 2021. Additionally, the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand revealed that Thai readers have rapidly shifted from print books to e-books, with an impressive 42% of readers now favouring e-books — one of the highest rates globally, highlighting the vast potential and opportunities ahead.

Kawita added that in response to the e-book market’s growth and rapidly changing consumer behavior, Storylog has continuously developed its e-book platform to stay current. Despite already having an e-book platform under Ookbee, shifts in user behavior and outdated technology led to the decision to create a new and improved platform. The search for a new name aimed to reflect portability, akin to the way e-books can be carried with readers everywhere, while also resonating with Thai culture. The name ‘Pinto’ was chosen to symbolize warmth, family care, and a multi-layered container, representing the diversity of content that meets every reader’s needs. Thus, the ‘Pinto E-book’ platform was born, designed as a ‘portable bookstore’ that accompanies digital-age readers wherever they go.

Premwich Srichartwong, Director and Founder of Storylog, elaborated on Storylog’s growth from a start-up to a fully-fledged organization after 10 years in business. Now, the focus is on long-term sustainability for the industry by building a strong ecosystem that allows writers and publishers to achieve stable income and independence, free from economic fluctuations. Storylog aims to establish a comprehensive digital reading ecosystem that integrates all of its platforms. Previously, Storylog managed platforms such as Fictionlog, known for its episodic novels, particularly translated works, and Tunwalai, a leading online novel platform with user-generated content as its primary selling point. After the episodic novel platforms reached maturity, the next step was to allow writers to compile their episodic works into e-books, thus creating the Pinto E-book platform to expand readership and provide a more stable income for writers.

Natavudh Pungcharoenpong, CEO of Ookbee Group, explained the transition of Ookbee’s reading platforms to Pinto E-book. While Ookbee Group has a diverse range of businesses, its main revenue streams, including Tunwalai, Fictionlog, and now Pinto E-book, continue to show strong growth. This led to the decision to consolidate all reading platforms under Storylog into one unit, improving operational efficiency and flexibility. Ookbee website and app users can now transfer their accounts to Pinto E-book, which is poised to offer a seamless experience for purchasing, selling, and reading e-books, as well as providing the best benefits to Ookbee users.

Goal: Build a Strong Ecosystem that Adapts to Change and Lays a Sustainable Foundation

Kawita further elaborated on the principles of successfully managing the organization, emphasizing the importance of balancing the ecosystem of readers, writers, and publishers to create value for all parties. This includes offering diverse content that appeals to every reader group, creating opportunities and increasing visibility for all writers, something Pinto E-book priorities. Another key factor is maintaining a balance between rapid growth and the establishment of a solid foundation. This is achieved by continuously developing technology and strategies that meet market demands and the fast-changing consumer behavior, while simultaneously building systems and infrastructure that support long-term sustainable growth.

Showcasing 4 Key Strengths: Creating a Unique and Impressive Reader Experience

Kawita highlighted four key strengths that make Pinto E-book stand out from other platforms:

Creating a warm and friendly atmosphere where readers feel at ease, as if browsing their favorite bookstore.
Curating content that resonates with everyone, utilizing both algorithms and expert staff to select and present interesting content, along with diverse book recommendations that cater to all reader groups.
Providing value to readers with discounts and promotions, including coupon codes, coin-back systems, and a membership programme offering exclusive benefits to encourage repeat purchases and brand loyalty.
Offering close support to partners, including writers and publishers, by assisting with project planning, file preparation, and marketing strategies tailored to their needs. Professional content partnership teams work closely with partners to ensure convenience, maximum benefit, and mutual growth.

Kawita also revealed that the Top 5 best-selling categories on Pinto E-book currently are: 1) Boys’ Love novels (Yaoi), 2) Romantic fiction, 3) Action-adventure comics, 4) Romantic comics, and 5) Psychology and self-development.

It has been found that historical Chinese romance and period Boys’ Love novels are the best-sellers, reflecting the growing popularity of period content, primarily from China, which is a major producer of online novels globally. The comic book category has also shown impressive growth, accounting for 15% of total sales last year. Similarly, psychology and self-development books, along with business and investment books, have gained traction, with an 18% increase in sales compared to the previous year.

In conclusion, Kawita shared Pinto E-book’s success, highlighting that they now have over 10,000 partners, including publishers and independent writers, and a library of hundreds of thousands of e-books. Additionally, user numbers have grown by 40 times, with a 100% increase in sales compared to the platform’s first year, reflecting the confidence both readers and partners have in the platform.

“Pinto E-book is committed to becoming the leading platform that both readers and writers think of first by creating a strong ecosystem that benefits all parties—readers, writers, and publishers. Through a vision that emphasizes value and mutual growth, we aim to strengthen Thailand’s content business for long-term sustainable growth,” Kawita concluded.

*Source: https://knowledgeportal.okmd.or.th/article/65f3e0725dcfe