Quill and Quire

Bookselling

« Back to
Quillblog

Toronto Chapters at John and Richmond to close

IndigoAnother downtown Toronto bookstore owned by Indigo Books & Music is shutting its doors. According to Canada.com, the Chapters location at John and Richmond will close on May 30.

The news comes one day after the closure of the World’s Biggest Bookstore, which is also owned by Indigo. In February, the company closed the Chapters Runnymede store in Toronto’s Bloor West Village. At a neighbourhood town hall, Indigo CEO Heather Reisman blamed rising rental costs and online shopping for the store’s demise. In all of the high-demand areas, rents are going up hugely, she said. At the same time that rents are going up, customers “ maybe not you, but maybe a few of you “ are very happy to come into stores, browse all the products, and then shop online at the cheapest place they can find. That is happening. You all know it.

In the past month, two other Toronto bookstores have closed: the flagship location of the Book City mini-chain and specialty retailer The Cookbook Store.