The company claims to be on approximately one in four iPads in France and is, according to Lekiosk, the highest grossing iPad app in the French app store.
It claims its success in France stems from its effective use of tablet technology as well as an innovative business model that allows users to subscribe to a monthly bundle of 10 magazines for €10.
The UK version of the app allows users to browse, sample and purchase titles from a rotating British-style newsstand which has been rendered in 3D. It will offer a monthly bundle of 10 magazines for £10.
Like Apple Newsstand, Lekiosk takes a 30% cut from the sales of single magazines through its Apple app. It takes the same proportion from purchases of the monthly 10 magazines for €10/£10 bundle.
Additionally, lekiosk takes a 50% cut from the sales of magazines through the Android app (ie the Google Play portal) and takes the same proportion from purchases of the monthly 10 magazines for €10/£10 bundle.
Michael Philippe, co-founder of Lekiosk, told Media Week that since launching in France in January 2011, the lekiosk app was downloaded more than 500,000 times and generated more than £1.4m in revenue last year.
He said: "We didn't set out to recreate a classic iPad app.
"We created a 3D environment, and when you open the app you can have access to a 3D newsstand. There is also a French newsstand and a London newsstand.
"It’s more like an entertainment environment that fits perfectly with the iPad."
Lekiosk does not plan to build adverts into its app at the present time. However, sales of magazines through Lekiosk are acknowledged by ABC, so it is hoped that magazines will gain recognition for increased sales via Lekiosk and thereby be more attractive to advertisers.
Ari Assuied, chairman of Lekiosk, said: "An increasing number of publishers are now confident that making their print magazines available in digital formats will give their readership a significant boost in the next couple of years and beyond – but they're also aware of the challenges that come with doing that.
"LeKiosk has been very successful in France because we help publishers meet those challenges, and we expect our 10 magazines for £10 bundle, our ability to deliver content to consumers wherever they are and whenever they want it, and the simplicity and beauty of our user interface to find as much favour with the British as it already has with the French."
YouGov consumer research commissioned by Lekiosk to support the launch reveals that 1 in 20 Brits are already consuming magazine media via tablet computers, but that the idea of doing so appeals to as much as 36% of UK consumers.
According to the research, Brits now especially favour reading magazines on tablet screens because of the speed at which doing so would allow them to access their chosen content (21%), the portability of digital media (20%), the convenience of purchasing content, anywhere and at any time through their devices (18%), and because it would give them the ability to cross reference content between multiple tablet applications (14%).
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