Indigo Books & Music Inc., known as "Indigo" and stylized "!ndigo", is a Canadian bookstore chain. It is Canada's largest book, gift, and specialty toy retailer, operating stores in all ten provinces and one territory, and through a website offering a selection of books, toys, home décor, stationery, and gifts. Most Chapters and Indigo stores include a Starbucks café inside. Contrary to its name, Indigo Books and Music does not sell music as part of its core retail offerings.
The company was founded in 1996 by CEO Heather Reisman, who is married to Gerry Schwartz, majority owner and CEO of Onex Corporation. The company's first big box bookstore, initially called "Indigo Books, Music & More", was opened in Burlington, Ontario on September 4, 1997. With financing from Onex Corporation, Indigo bought Chapters, their largest Canadian competitor, in 2001 and continues to operate many stores under the Chapters banner. Indigo also gained the ownership of the Coles chain of small-format bookstores, which was also owned by Chapters. Indigo closed three high-profile stores in Toronto in the spring of 2014, including the World's Biggest Bookstore, which it acquired when it bought Chapters. In June 2014, Reisman said the company was headed into a new phase, selling a much higher percentage of non-book items. In late 2017, it was announced that it would expand to the United States, with its first location opening in The Mall at Short Hills in October 2018.
