Heather Reisman fiddled with the jukebox tucked in the front corner of Indigo’s newest store in downtown Toronto. Bette Midler’s “From a Distance” began playing over the speakers as she led a group of reporters through the modern-industrial space on the eve of its public opening. 

The store—the first to open since Reisman’s September return as CEO to the book retailer she founded—is located inside The Well, a boutique condo and retail development occupying a prime corner of downtown Toronto. The building remains shrouded in scaffolding. But inside Indigo, Reisman and her design team had the new store camera-ready.  

In an interview with BNN Bloomberg earlier this month, Reisman said she felt Indigo had “journey[ed] off-brand” as it became more of a general retailer. On Thursday, showing off the new space to the press, she said she has recommitted to the chain’s original vision as a book lover’s “happy place.” 

Indigo is of course a business and it has to be profitable, Reisman said. “But this enterprise is more than a business,” she said. “I personally could not have been any other kind of retailer. I came to this business because I believe so much in the centrality of books and reading and ideas, and what they bring to the world.” 

Reisman’s return came just four weeks after retiring as executive chair of Indigo’s board in August. It was another twist in what has been a dramatic year for the 26-year-old company. It was hit with a debilitating and expensive ransomware attack in February. In June, four of its board members left, including one who said she had experienced mistreatment at Indigo and had lost confidence in the board’s leadership. Reisman announced her retirement that day. 

Later that month, the retailer reported a nearly $50-million loss in fiscal 2023, down from a modest profit the year before. The stock—56 per cent of which is owned by Reisman’s husband, Onex founder and CEO Gerry Schwartz, with Reisman owning another 4.5 per cent—had declined about 40 per cent from January to mid-September. It’s reversed that drop since Reisman announced her return and is now trading around $2 per share. In March 2018, it traded at $20. 

But the challenges started before 2023. Indigo had adjusted to the rise of Amazon and the book industry’s digital transformation in part by prioritizing merchandise in its brick-and-mortar stores. It nevertheless has reported a loss for four of the last five years. 

The layout of Indigo’s new location at The Well reflects Reisman’s plan to put books back at the centre of the business. Merchandise—throw pillows, cotton pyjamas, aromatherapy oils, glassware and toys—is nestled among displays of novels, biographies and cookbooks, rather than being showcased, as had become customary in the chain’s stores. 

Cutting back on non-book products is part of Reisman’s plan. She’s aiming for 65 to 70 per cent of sales to come from books, up from the 52 per cent print products accounted for in 2023. 

Reisman wouldn’t say whether there’s actually less merchandise in the new store than in an average Indigo. “I always felt we had an opportunity for some deliberate, intentional merchandise,” she said. “This store would have a mix that I think would feel right for the business.” 

The Well store is in some ways the customer-facing symbol of Reisman’s return to the helm—a spot she plans to occupy for a “very, very long time.” But there are internal company challenges she’s not quite ready to address publicly. 

Wrapping up her walk-through with reporters, Reisman declined to discuss recent departures and reports of turmoil inside the company, simply saying, “You believe everything you read?”