Chapters
Encyclopedia
Chapters is a Canadian big box bookstore banner owned by Indigo Books and Music
. Formerly a company in its own right competing with Indigo, the combined company has continued to operate both banners since their merger in 2001.
Chapters Inc. was created when Coles
and SmithBooks, Canada's two largest book chains at the time, merged in 1994. SmithBooks was acquired from Federal Industries and Coles was acquired from Southam Inc. Canadian General Capital and Pathfinder Capital bought these two chains with the intention of building large-format book superstores comparable to those of the American
bookstore chains Barnes and Noble and Borders
.
The new company was officially created in April 1995 and the first two book superstores were opened in November 1995. The original superstores were located in Burlington
, Ontario
and Burnaby, British Columbia
.
Chapters quickly changed the face of the book selling industry in Canada. Previously, companies like Coles and Smithbooks had many small stores. Chapters built large box stores with a much larger product selection. Chapters provided chairs and couches for their customers, as well as Starbucks
coffee shops, and did not discourage the reading of books inside the store. The company became the largest book retailer in Canada, with 77 superstores branded as Chapters and more than 280 mall-based stores under the names Coles, SmithBooks (formerly the Canadian branch of W H Smith
), Classic Bookshops, the Book Company, and Active Minds. However, the SmithBooks, the Book Company, and Classic Bookshops names have been gradually phased and locations have been rebranded as Coles stores in recent years. Canada's first book superstore, Toronto's World's Biggest Bookstore
, once part of the Coles chain, was also owned by Chapters and had continued to operate under its original name.
Chapters grew very quickly. It was criticized, however, for several reasons. It was blamed for the demise of several independent bookstore
s across Canada, especially alternative stores carrying obscure or controversial titles. Although it was said that Chapters also built its business around moving massive numbers of a few bestsellers, the majority of its sales came from backlist titles. As the company's market share grew it represented the lion's share of many publisher's sales.
Chapters did not keep the box book store market to itself, however, with the opening of Indigo. Headed by Heather Reisman
, Indigo began to compete with Chapters in select markets and opened 14 stores. Chapters aggressively expanded into online bookselling with chapters.ca to compete with Amazon and also was a majority investor in Pegasus, a book wholesaler. Pegasus was needed to be able to serve the online sales but the business was resisted by Canadian publishers and was not successful. In the autumn of 2000 Indigo launched a hostile takeover. Indigo was able to convince the Competition Bureau that Indigo was not a viable standalone business given the enormous losses that it was sustaining and thus had to be able to merge with the profitable Chapters retail chain. By early 2001, Indigo had been successful in purchasing Chapters, but kept both the Chapters and Indigo brands; subsequently a number of Chapters stores near Indigo locations were closed. In some cases Coles and SmithBooks stores were shut down if they were too close to a Chapters site.
Although there are still some aesthetic differences between the store designs of the Chapters and Indigo banners, they now share many common elements. Moreover, aside from Indigo's larger focus on music, product selection and special offers are not generally distinguishable from one to the other. Indigo has adopted the Starbucks cafes that were in Chapters stores and has reduced the seating areas in Chapters stores and introduced a very wide range of non-book products which had been carried at Indigo
concerns, or the strong support for Israel
by the owner Heather Reisman and her husband Gerry Schwartz
. Reisman and Schwartz head the HESEG Foundation
, which provides scholarships for foreign-born Jews who volunteer for the Israel Defence Forces.
The book "Mein Kampf
" by Adolf Hitler
was removed from the shelves of Chapters. There was controversy in the fact that the book is sometimes used in a historical context and some university or high school courses have the book on their syllabus.
Indigo Books and Music
Indigo Books & Music Inc. is a Canadian retail bookstore chain. The company was founded in 1996 by CEO Heather Reisman, wife of Gerry Schwartz, majority owner and CEO of Onex Corporation....
. Formerly a company in its own right competing with Indigo, the combined company has continued to operate both banners since their merger in 2001.
History
Coles (bookstore)
Coles is a Canadian bookstore chain owned by Indigo Books and Music. Coles currently serves as Indigo's brand for small-scale bookstores in locations such as shopping malls...
and SmithBooks, Canada's two largest book chains at the time, merged in 1994. SmithBooks was acquired from Federal Industries and Coles was acquired from Southam Inc. Canadian General Capital and Pathfinder Capital bought these two chains with the intention of building large-format book superstores comparable to those of the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
bookstore chains Barnes and Noble and Borders
Borders Group
Borders Group, Inc. was an international book and music retailer based in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The company employed approximately 19,500 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders and Waldenbooks stores....
.
The new company was officially created in April 1995 and the first two book superstores were opened in November 1995. The original superstores were located in Burlington
Burlington, Ontario
Burlington , is a city located in Halton Region at the western end of Lake Ontario. Burlington is part of the Greater Toronto Area, and is also included in the Hamilton Census Metropolitan Area. Physically, Burlington lies between the north shore of Lake Ontario and the Niagara Escarpment...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Burnaby, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
.
Chapters quickly changed the face of the book selling industry in Canada. Previously, companies like Coles and Smithbooks had many small stores. Chapters built large box stores with a much larger product selection. Chapters provided chairs and couches for their customers, as well as Starbucks
Starbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
coffee shops, and did not discourage the reading of books inside the store. The company became the largest book retailer in Canada, with 77 superstores branded as Chapters and more than 280 mall-based stores under the names Coles, SmithBooks (formerly the Canadian branch of W H Smith
W H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
), Classic Bookshops, the Book Company, and Active Minds. However, the SmithBooks, the Book Company, and Classic Bookshops names have been gradually phased and locations have been rebranded as Coles stores in recent years. Canada's first book superstore, Toronto's World's Biggest Bookstore
World's Biggest Bookstore
The World's Biggest Bookstore is a bookstore located in Toronto, Ontario, at 20 Edward St, just north of the Toronto Eaton Centre. It is currently owned by Indigo Books and Music.-History:...
, once part of the Coles chain, was also owned by Chapters and had continued to operate under its original name.
Chapters grew very quickly. It was criticized, however, for several reasons. It was blamed for the demise of several independent bookstore
Independent bookstore
An independent bookstore is a retail bookstore which is independently owned.-Literary and countercultural history:Author events at independent bookstores sometimes take the role of literary salons. The bookstores themselves, "have historically supported and cultivated the work of independent...
s across Canada, especially alternative stores carrying obscure or controversial titles. Although it was said that Chapters also built its business around moving massive numbers of a few bestsellers, the majority of its sales came from backlist titles. As the company's market share grew it represented the lion's share of many publisher's sales.
Chapters did not keep the box book store market to itself, however, with the opening of Indigo. Headed by Heather Reisman
Heather Reisman
Heather Reisman is a Canadian businesswoman. Reisman is the founder and chief executive of the Canadian retail chain Indigo Books and Music. Previously, she was president of Cott Corporation, a leading supplier of private label carbonated soft drinks.Reisman is married to Gerald Schwartz,...
, Indigo began to compete with Chapters in select markets and opened 14 stores. Chapters aggressively expanded into online bookselling with chapters.ca to compete with Amazon and also was a majority investor in Pegasus, a book wholesaler. Pegasus was needed to be able to serve the online sales but the business was resisted by Canadian publishers and was not successful. In the autumn of 2000 Indigo launched a hostile takeover. Indigo was able to convince the Competition Bureau that Indigo was not a viable standalone business given the enormous losses that it was sustaining and thus had to be able to merge with the profitable Chapters retail chain. By early 2001, Indigo had been successful in purchasing Chapters, but kept both the Chapters and Indigo brands; subsequently a number of Chapters stores near Indigo locations were closed. In some cases Coles and SmithBooks stores were shut down if they were too close to a Chapters site.
Although there are still some aesthetic differences between the store designs of the Chapters and Indigo banners, they now share many common elements. Moreover, aside from Indigo's larger focus on music, product selection and special offers are not generally distinguishable from one to the other. Indigo has adopted the Starbucks cafes that were in Chapters stores and has reduced the seating areas in Chapters stores and introduced a very wide range of non-book products which had been carried at Indigo
Criticism and controversies
Since its takeover by Indigo, Chapters has been involved in several controversies, often tied to censorshipCensorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
concerns, or the strong support for Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
by the owner Heather Reisman and her husband Gerry Schwartz
Gerry Schwartz
Gerald W. Schwartz, OC born c.1941 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is a Canadian businessman. In 1977 he co-founded CanWest Global Communications Inc, followed by Onex Corporation in 1983. He has been a director of Scotiabank since 1999...
. Reisman and Schwartz head the HESEG Foundation
HESEG Foundation
The HESEG Foundation is a charitable foundation created by Canadians Gerry Schwartz and Heather Reisman in 2005 to provide scholarships to former "lone soldiers" who are non-Israeli-born Jews without family in Israel who go to the country in order to serve in the Israel Defense Forces...
, which provides scholarships for foreign-born Jews who volunteer for the Israel Defence Forces.
The book "Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
" by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
was removed from the shelves of Chapters. There was controversy in the fact that the book is sometimes used in a historical context and some university or high school courses have the book on their syllabus.