Quill and Quire

Bookselling

« Back to Omni
Articles

Indigo reports $20.5 million second quarter losses

Indigo Robson (Janis Nicolay Photography. CNW Group/Indigo Books & Music Inc.)

Indigo Books & Music has reported a net loss of $20.5 million for its second quarter, which ended Sept. 28. Comparable same-store sales fell 8 per cent.

Revenue was down from $216.3 million to $203.4 million, representing a $12.9 million decrease from the same period last year. The decrease is attributed to strong competitive pressures and efforts to reduce promotions. In a call with investors, chief financial officer Craig Loudon said that the retailer was “far too promotional” last year, and had a lot of marked-down merchandise to clear, particularly in Q3 following a late-starting store development program.

While operating, selling, and administrative expenses were reduced by $9 million over the quarter as part of an ambitious $20–$25 million cost-cutting plan, that number was partly offset by the costs incurred by the opening of net-new stores and the closure of Indigo’s New York design studio, which has been relocated to Toronto under Indigo’s new chief creative officer, Nathan Williams.

According to Loudon, Williams will have minimal impact on holiday-season merchandising and creative plans, but he “put his mark to the best extent that he could.” The full rollout of Williams’s new creative strategy is expected in spring-summer 2020.

Also this quarter, Indigo launched plum PLUS, its new membership program.

By:

November 7th, 2019

5:12 pm

Category: Bookselling

Tags: