| • 1940 - |
Brothers Carl and Jack Cole open the first Coles Store located in Toronto. Coles goes on to expand across Canada, including opening the original book superstore: The World's Biggest Bookstore in downtown Toronto. |
| • 1950 - |
W.H. Smith, a U.K company, first opens in Toronto. |
| • 1989 - |
W.H. Smith becomes Canadian-owned and changes its name to SmithBooks. |
| • 1994 - |
Pathfinder Capital acquires SmithBooks. |
| • 1995 - |
SmithBooks and Coles merge to form Chapters Inc. Chapters Inc. grows to become the largest book retailer in Canada, operating bookstores in all provinces. |
| • 1996 - |
Indigo Books & Music is born. Bringing Indigo to life was the culmination and integration of a life long passion for books and music by booklovers, for booklovers. It was conceived as a booklovers' cultural department store and aims to consistently provide the most inspiring, richly stocked and inviting retail environment in the world. |
| • 1997 - |
Indigo opens its first store called Indigo Books Music & more in Burlington, Ontario. Indigo instantly becomes a place that reflects the best of a small proprietor-run shop bundled with the selection of a true emporium. |
| • 1999 - |
Chapters Online becomes a publicly traded company, separate from Chapters Inc. |
| • 2000 - |
Indigo expands to 14 locations across Canada and an online store, indigo.ca |
| • 2000 - |
Trilogy Retail Enterprises L.P. announces its intent to purchase a controlling interest in Chapters. |
| • 2001 - |
Chapters and Indigo officially merge under the corporate name Indigo Books & Music Inc. to form the largest book retailer in Canada. |
| • 2001 - |
www.chapters.indigo.ca is created. |
| • 2003 - |
Indigo makes music available online and ready to ship within 24 hours. |
| • 2004 - |
Indigo establishes the Love of Reading Fund (now the Love of Reading Foundation), a charitable initiative dedicated to enhancing literacy and self-esteem in students, promoting learning opportunities, and supporting teachers and students in high-needs schools across Canada by providing new books and resources. |
| • 2004 - |
Indigo launches the Junior Advisory Board, a team of Canada's best and brightest young readers to provide their opinions on what youth want to read. |
• 2005 &
2006 - |
Indigo ranks as one of Canada's top 100 employers according to a MediaCorp survey published in Maclean's magazine. |
| • 2006 - |
Indigo opens a new store in Brossard, Quebec. This new concept store is the largest bilingual bookstore in the Montreal area and features thematic boutiques so booklovers can easily identify each section. |
| • 2006 - |
Indigo expands its product listing to include toys and opens new in-store toy departments at Yorkdale and Bayview Village locations in Toronto, Ontario. |
| • 2008 - |
Currently there are 247 Indigo, Chapters and Coles stores across Canada |