Amazon CEO Says No Sales Data Coming For Kindle

Amazon.com (AMZN) is unlikely to ever reveal sales data for its popular Kindle e-book reader, CEO Jeff Bezos told the company's shareholders at their annual meeting Thursday.

The online retailer launched the latest update to the Kindle in February and added a large-screen version earlier this month. But ever since the first iteration of the device came out in late 2007, the company has refused to provide any specific sales data for the product, leaving analysts and investors to guess as to the overall impact on the company's bottom line.

"I'm not sure we will ever reveal all the numbers," Bezos told a shareholder during a question-and-answer session at the meeting, which was broadcast over the Web. "Our point of view is that there is a competitive advantage to keeping the numbers close."

Bezos added that he understands the curiosity, given that he checks the sales data himself on a daily basis.

"The data we have shows us that this is turning into something special. So I beg your indulgence on the question of how many Kindles have been sold," he said.

Estimates from analysts have varied widely. Analysts believe Amazon may have sold more than half a million devices in 2008. Mark Mahaney of Citigroup believes about 300,000 Kindles may have been sold in the first quarter of this year, based on data provided by Sprint (S), the telecommunications carrier that provides wireless service for the device.

Many analysts believe Kindle sales this year will pass the 1 million mark.

Of the sales, Amazon has only said that - out of sales of books that have a Kindle version available - 35% of those sales involve the electronic format.

Bezos said the company has done very little advertising for the Kindle, though the product occupies a prime spot on the front of the company's Web site. He said most sales for the device are driven by word of mouth.

"Advertising is the price you pay for having an unremarkable product or service," he said at the meeting.

-Dan Gallagher; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com

Categories: Internet