Amazon Says Sold-Out Kindle Fire Captured 22% of U.S. Tablet Market

AMAZON

Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) said on Thursday that its Kindle Fire tablet, which competes with Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPad, Samsung’s Galaxy and Barnes & Noble’s (NYSE:BKS) Nook, has captured 22% of the U.S. market.

The news comes less than a year – 48 weeks to be exact – since the product launched, where it quickly became the best-selling item of the millions offered on the online retailer’s platform.

“We’re grateful to the millions of customers who have made Kindle Fire the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon,” Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. “Kindle Fire is sold out, but we have an exciting roadmap ahead.”

The Seattle-based company said all of the top 10 products sold on Amazon.com since the Fire’s launch have been Kindle or related products.

Shares of Amazon edged higher on Thursday, touching an all-time record of $250.

The news is sour for rival Barnes & Noble, which competes directly with Amazon not just in the tablet market but with e-readers as well. Shares of the New York-based bookseller fell 2% to about $11.98 on Thursday morning, pushing them down more than 17% since January.

In an effort to try and tap new areas abroad, Barnes & Noble said it has chosen several major retailers in the U.K. to launch the newest versions of its Nook this fall.

While its expansion in the U.K. is a step in the right direction, the 95-year-old company already significantly trails Amazon there, which has a pretty well-established U.K. presence.