The first Indigo location opened in Burlington Ontario in 1997, created with the desire to bring a unique cultural destination to the Canadian retail marketplace. Indigo Books & Music Inc. (“Indigo” or the “Company”), as it exists today, was created in August 2001 upon the merger with Chapters Inc. Indigo is Canada’s leading book and lifestyle retailer. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, the Company employs approximately 4,200 people. The Company operates retail stores in all ten provinces and one territory and also has retail operations in the United States through a wholly-owned subsidiary, operating one retail store in Short Hills, New Jersey.
On May 31, 2024, a privatization transaction was completed involving Indigo and Trilogy Investments L.P. by way of a Plan of Arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (“OBCA”). As a result, the common shares of Indigo were delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange on June 4, 2024. Indigo ceased to be a reporting issuer on June 11, 2024 and ceased to be an offering corporation as defined under the OBCA on June 18, 2024.
As of December 30, 2023, the Company operated 89 superstores under the banners Chapters and Indigo and 83 small format stores, under the banners Coles and Indigospirit. The Company also operates www.indigo.ca, a popular online destination showcasing all that Indigo has to offer.
Averaging over 22,000 square feet, Indigo’s large format stores are designed to be destinations for culture-seekers, offering an inspiring environment conducive to browsing and community-building. Small format stores are typically located in retail shopping centres, street-front retail areas, major airports and central business districts.
The need to understand, connect and engage with customers is deeply important to Indigo. The Company’s plum rewards program reflects the strong focus placed on generating long term engagement from its best customers. Indigo’s plum rewards program includes two tiers: plum, a free points-based tier; and plum+, a fee-based tier that allows members to collect points, save an extra 10% on almost everything and enjoy free shipping every day.
Both tiers of the program offers members the opportunity to earn points faster by taking advantage of bonus point promotions and targeted promotional offers. Among other exclusive offers, members can take advantage of invitations to special events, early access to sales and inspirational book and product recommendations.
Books and book products are the Company’s core products with approximately 8 million book titles currently available online and a reduced curated assortment in stores. The Company continues to support eReading via the Kobo service on a variety of devices available to Canadians. Indigo customers can find eBooks on indigo.ca, which links directly to the Kobo site for purchase.
Indigo offers a selection of general merchandise for the booklover that is beautifully designed, affordably priced, and uniquely ours.
The !ndigoKids® brand mission is committed to supporting parents and dedicated to the intellectual, social, physical, and emotional well-being of children with a focus on books, specialty toys and unique gifts. To support the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, Indigo and the Foundation have partnered to donate 1% of net proceeds of each baby and children’s book sold online and in stores to high needs communities. The Company currently offers the !ndigoKids experience in all 89 large format locations.
At Indigo, providing the best brands, products and books for your little ones has always been a part of the story. The !ndigoBaby® brand offers a wide variety of unique gifts, apparel, bath, feeding, nursery, décor, plush and toys for the little one in your life. To support the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, Indigo and the Foundation have partnered to donate 1% of net proceeds of each baby and children’s book sold online and in stores to high needs communities. The Company currently offers the !ndigoBaby experience in all 89 large format locations.
Through its Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, the Company is committed ensuring that all Canadian children have access to books and the opportunity to fall in love with reading. The Foundation’s accomplishes this goal by raising awareness about the literacy gaps that exist in Canadian elementary schools today and works to close those gaps by providing books and educational resources to high-needs elementary schools across the country. The annual Literacy Fund grant provides multi-year transformational grants to school libraries across the country and the annual Adopt a School program is a grassroots program that pairs local stores and schools together to raise funds and awareness about children's literacy issues. With the support of Indigo, its customers, employees and suppliers, the Foundation has invested over $35 million into more than 3,000 elementary schools across Canada since 2004, benefitting more than 1,000,000 students.