Confirming PW's report from July 17, Indigo Books and Music has announced it is opening a bookstore in New Jersey next year. The store will occupy a 30,000 sq.-ft. space in the Mall at Short Hills.
“We’re going to probably do three, four, five stores over the next 24 months and test the market response to the concept," Indigo CEO Heather Reisman said during a call with investors after it released it second quarter results. "Then if we experience what we think we’re going to be seeing, then we’ll look at further growth." She added: “We will definitely open a couple [of stores] before making any major commitments.”
Results from Indigo's existing stores in Canada continued to be generally positive. Revenue for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 was up 3.5%, to C$224.5 million, over the comparable period a year ago. Comparable store sales were up 2.8%. The retailer's net loss rose to C$4.7 million from C$1.2 million which Indigo attributed to investment in the company as well as an accounting change.
The company credited the rise in revenue, in particular, to strong growth in sales of toys and lifestyle items. The core book business was up, excluding sales from last summer's blockbuster, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The chain also continues to roll out a new bookstore concept which it introduced in 2016. The new concept re-positions the chain's larger locations as "cultural department stores" and places an equal emphasis on the sale of non-book items, as well as books.
The bookseller operates 89 superstores, under the Indigo and Chapters brands, as well as 122 small format stores, under the banners Coles, Indigospirit, SmithBooks, and The Book Company. So far, all of the company's stores are in Canada.
