Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s has revealed that it will be shutting down its digital entertainment subsidiary by the end of 2016.

Sainsbury’s Entertainment on Demand, which includes services such as movies and TV, e-books and music, will be sold to eBook store Kobo.

Kobo will be sending a message out on the 25th October to customers on how to access its library and has stated that any purchases bought from Sainsbury’s would be transferable and accessible.

Sainsbury’s commented: “Following a commercial review we have taken the strategic decision to close the Sainsbury’s Entertainment service. We know many customers valued this service and we regret to disappoint them.

“We’re now contacting these customers to let them know what options are available to them, including e-book customers who can migrate their libraries across to a new platform.”

Michael Tamblyn, chief executive at Kobo, said: “We look forward to welcoming Sainsbury’s customers to read with Kobo.


“They will be able to cherish the books they currently have for years to come as well as add new ones with personalised recommendations and expert selections to suit each and every book lover.”


However, on the flip side, the supermarket has predicted that demand for its online groceries service will double during the next eight years, promoting Sainsbury’s to open a new customer fulfilment centre in London.
Based in Bromley-by-Bow, the new centre which covers 185,000 sq ft will have the capability to hold 25,000 customer orders per week and has already hired around 500 staff, with the intention of hiring a further 430 staff by 2020.


Sainsbury’s director of online, Clodagh Moriarty, said: “Operating day and night, this state-of-the-art centre, with its cutting edge technology will enable us to handle exceptional volumes at high speed.

“The additional capacity provided by the centre means that, working with our 30 London stores which pick online orders, we’ll be able to keep up with demand for our service in London, which we expect to double over the next eight years.”

Figures show that Sainsubury’s, who launched the online business in 1999, reached sales of £1 billion by 2013.