Indigo warns of waning consumer demand heading into critical holiday season

Indigo's returning CEO says she's putting 'books at the forefront' of the retailer's revitalized sales strategy as it heads into a tough holiday quarter.

In Heather Reisman’s first quarterly conference call with analysts since her return to Indigo Books & Music Inc. in September, she introduced herself as both the company’s CEO and “chief book lover.”

It’s on the back of those books that Reisman says she’s “confident” the Toronto-based company will return to profitability, even as the retailer warns of waning consumer demand heading into the critical holiday shopping season.

The returning founder pitched a vision for “Indigo 4.0” to analysts on the second-quarter conference call Wednesday. She conceded that the retailer has a “journey” ahead of it, but added she’s “confident that we will return Indigo to both growth and profitability.”

“As is always the case, it will take a bit of time before we begin seeing, in the numbers, what we want to see. But we are definitely headed in the right direction,” Reisman said.

That direction has been a point of contention in recent years for Indigo, which has broadened its offerings from books to lifestyle and general merchandise that ranged from reading socks to sex toys.

On Wednesday, Reisman pointed to the recent launch of the company’s new concept store at The Well in Toronto as a blueprint for the company’s “brand mission” going forward.

“The store puts books at the forefront while offering a curated and complementary assortment of general merchandise for book lovers,” she said.

Reisman originally retired from Indigo in August but returned to the helm just a few weeks later after the departures of CEO Peter Ruis and president Andrea Limbardi, as well as a number of directors from the board.