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Wal-Mart fires Kindle, kicks it out of its store

A vast majority of Kindle sales, however, still come from the Amazon Web site.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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Roger Cheng
The Kindle Fire HD won't be available at Wal-Mart anymore. Josh Miller/CNET

Wal-Mart will no longer sell Amazon's Kindle products, highlighting the tensions between the online and physical retail worlds.

The retailing giant confirmed in an e-mail that it would no longer carry the product beyond its current inventory. Reuters earlier reported the decision.

Amazon declined to comment.

The decision to cease selling Amazon's products comes as the online retailer is eating into physical retail chains, also known as brick-and-mortar stores. With more consumers browsing in stores but making purchases online, retailers face the risk of declining sales -- an issue that has shut down companies such as Borders and Circuit City.

Wal-Mart declined to specify why it made the decision, only saying it "is consistent with our overall merchandising strategy." The company said it would continue to offer other tablets and e-readers.

Amazon offers the Kindle family of products, from the Kindle Touch e-reader to the Kindle Fire HD tablet, in its online store. Amazon sells the products with razor-thin margins because it can make money off of the purchase of e-books for the Kindle reader or goods ordered through the Kindle Fire. But those lower margins aren't appealing to Wal-Mart, which has to compete against Amazon at the same price.

Wal-Mart isn't the first retailer to dump the Kindle. In May, Target opted to remove the Kindle from it stores as well.

Amazon, meanwhile, likely isn't going to see much of an impact from Wal-Mart's dropping of its products. A vast majority of Kindle sales are made through its Web site.