Indigo Books & Music Inc., (TSE: IDG) is a Canadian company committed to providing a service-driven, stress-free approach to satisfying the booklover.
Indigo was created in 1996 by and for booklovers, and merged with Chapters Inc. in August 2001 to become Canada’s largest Books retail chain. Indigo Books & Music Inc. is committed to being your most complete and trusted resource for Books, music, gifts and much more.
We said in the very beginning that we wanted to create a true booklovers' haven -- a place to discover Books, music and more that might, in the rush of life, have gone undiscovered. A place that reflects the best of a small proprietor-run shop bundled with the selection of a true emporium.
Book Categories
Biography & Memoir , Business and Finance , Computers , Fiction and Literature , Health and Well Being , History , Art and Architecture , Children's Books , Entertainment , Family and Relationships , Food and Drink , Home and Garden , Mystery and Suspense , Reference and Language , Religion and Spirituality , Romance , Science and Nature , Science Fiction and Fantasy , Social and Cultural Studies , Sports , Travel
Music Categories
Rock/Pop , Jazz Vocal , Blues , Classical , Children's , R&B/Hip-Hop , Cajun , Comedy , Comedy/Spoken , Country , Easy Listening , Electronic , Environmental , Folk , Gospel , Hardcore/Punk , Heavy Metal , Instrumental , International , Jazz Instrument , New Age , Oldies , Original Cast , Pop Vocal , R&B/Soul , Reggae , Shows/Movies , Soundtracks , Spoken Word
DVD Categories
Dramas , Comedies , Sports & Fitness , Science Fiction & Fantasy , Kids & Family , Action & Adventure , Foreign Films , Horror & Suspense , Musicals and Music , Special Interests
... and much much more.
About the Company
Indigo
Indigo Books & Music Inc. was created in 1996, and we opened our first store, called Indigo Books Music & more, in Burlington, Ontario on September 4, 1997. By 2000, the chain had expanded to 14 locations across Canada. Indigo was the first book retail chain to add music, gifts and licensed cafes to their distinctive store locations, making shopping a real social event, a leisurely experience that could comfortably and enjoyably stretch over hours.
Chapters
Chapters Inc. was formed following the merger of Coles and SmithBooks, then Canada’s two largest bookstore chains. In 1994, Canadian General Capital and Pathfinder Capital purchased SmithBooks from Federal Industries, and later that year acquired Coles from Southam Inc. The strategy was to build a strong base company and use its financial strength to invest in the development of large format book superstores.
In April 1995, the merger of SmithBooks and Coles was finalized, and in November 1995, the new company, Chapters Inc. opened its first two book superstores and from there grew to become the largest book retailer in Canada, operating bookstores in all provinces, under the names Chapters, Coles, SmithBooks, and World's Biggest Bookstore.
Chapters is the top retail brand in Canada, ranked No. 1 overall by consumers for four consecutive years (Kubas Major Market Retail Report 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000).
Coming Together
On November 28, 2000, Trilogy Retail Enterprises L.P. (“Trilogy”) announced its intent to purchase a controlling interest in Chapters. These changes, which included the offer to purchase the minority shares of both Pegasus Wholesale Inc. (“Pegasus”) and Chapters Online Inc. (“Chapters Online”), culminated with the overwhelming acceptance by Chapters shareholders of Trilogy’s offer to purchase Chapters shares at $17 cash per share.
On February 1, 2001, Trilogy acquired 7,146,000 shares of Chapters, or approximately 69.1% of the shares tendered under the bid. Combined with the shares it purchased previously, Trilogy now owns 8.787,894 Chapters shares, representing approximately 70.5% of the company’s outstanding shares. The remainder of the shares is publicly owned.
On August 14, 2001, Chapters and Indigo officially and legally merged under the corporate name Indigo Books & Music Inc.
Coles Book Stores
Brothers Carl and Jack Cole opened the first Coles store in 1940 in Toronto. Coles expanded across Canada, bringing an innovative style to book retailing, with bookstores that were accessible and exciting. Coles also created the now world-famous Coles Notes student study guides. In 1980, Coles opened one of the original book superstores, the 67,000 square foot World's Biggest Bookstore, in downtown Toronto.
Under the ownership of Southam Inc., Coles continued to expand throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, and there are Coles stores in every province in Canada. In 1994, Southam sold Coles to Pathfinder Capital and in April 1995, Coles and SmithBooks merged to form Chapters Inc.
Date Added to Directory: 6/24/2002, Current Content: 10/13/2008, Days in Directory: 2303
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