Sainsbury‘s is looking to capitalise further on the growing sharing economy market with the purchase of social networking book platform Anobii.
The supermarket has bought a 24 per cent stake from Penguin Random House and 12 per cent from HarperCollins respectively to have full control of the company.
The service allows individuals to catalogue their books and rate, review and discuss them with other readers. The service is available via the Anobii website and iPhone and Android apps. The apps allow individuals to barcode scan books and read both community and expert reviews.
Anobii was originally acquired by a venture backed by a group of businesses including HMV Group in 2012. Later that year, Sainsbury‘s bought a 64 per cent stake from HMV group for £1.
Earlier this year, Sainsbury‘s sold the Italian arm of the social network to Italy‘s largest publishing group, Mondadori which has enabled it to focus on its core UK business.
