Reference no: EM132945318

ENTER THE WORLD OF BUSINESSHeather Reisman and Indigo if you walk into any chapters or indigo bookstore in Canada, you are likely to see some books flagged as Heather's Picks. Heather, in case you don't know, is Heather Reisman, founder of indigo books and Music and the current CEO of Canada's largest retail chain of bookstores, indigo, which includes chapters, indigo, and coles branded stores. Reisman maintains she has always had a deep love of books and had originally intended to be a major investor in bringing borders, an American bookstore, to Canada. borders' attempts to enter the Canadian market failed to gain approval from the Canadian government, and Reisman opted to start her own book retailer. During indigo's early years, the company battled for market share with what at the time was its main rival,

chapters. this competitive rivalry changed dramatically when indigo, under Reisman's leadership, launched a hostile takeover of chapters. While chapters' management tried to prevent the sale of the company to indigo, reisman was ultimately successful. the acquisition, or merger, gave indigo a virtual monopoly on retail bookstores in Canada. Yet the monopoly was fraught with challenges, including the ever-increasing expansion of Amazon in Canada. in fact, numerous business experts wondered if indigo wasn't going to go the way of other brick-and-mortar retailers and eventually head toward bankruptcy. Reisman initially responded to the challenge by improving indigo and the chapter's online presence and shifting its merchandise mix to include electronics, household items, giftware, stationery, baby gifts, and toys, all with the hopes of increasing its revenue. building on this strategy, indigo started to form strategic partnerships, sometimes known as joint ventures, with popular companies including Fitbit and Rifle Paper co. One of the better-known partnerships is with an American girl, which brought the popular dolls to Canada's retail environment. indigo's exclusive partnership not only increased revenue but brought new non-traditional shoppers into their retail outlets. indigo is now transforming itself once again, into what Reisman is describing as the world's first "cultural department store." the company will not only sell books but offer consumers a variety of lifestyle products and feature store-within-a-store partnerships with an American girl, Fitbit, and others. Reisman notes they are now featuring products that appeal to tastemakers and those who want to create

culture. retailer experts state that part of indigo's success is attracting customers who want to see what is cool, hot, or chic. in addition to redesigning current stores, indigo is building brand new stores in major cities in Canada and in 2018 opened its first U.s. store in new jersey. When many other bricks-and-motor retailers are closing down locations or going out of business, indigo is doing the opposite and expanding in the hope that their cultural department stores are just what consumers want in the ever-changing world of retail.

Questions :

1. What do you think are some of the advantages and disadvantages of changing indigo from a traditional bookseller to a "cultural department store?"

2. Why would retailers enter into partnerships allowing store-within-store concepts? What advantages do you see in such partnerships? What are some disadvantages?

3. Do you think indigo's expansion strategy will be successful? Why or why not?