A group of publishers have decided to take the matter of e-book distribution into their own hands by creating a company called Platforma Dystrybucyjna Wydawnictw (PDW), which will work with web-based bookstores and wholesalers, reports Gazeta Wyborcza.

Their main competitors will be Virtualo (owned by Empik) and Nexto (owned by Ruch). Shareholders in the new enterprise include Czarna Owca, Nasza Księgarnia, Prószyński Media, Rebis, Sonia Draga, Wydawnictwo Literackie and Zysk i Spółka, each of which took a stake worth zł.10,000.

The founders plan to launch operations in the March/April timeframe. The first key task of PDW will be the creation and maintenance of an IT system which will store the original copies of e-books which will then be distributed to e-bookstores and wholesalers. The group currently controls about 10 percent of the digital publications market in Poland.

Poland A.M.