Chain stores
Indigo/Indigospirit (incl. IndigoKids), Chapters (owned by Indigo), Coles (owned by Indigo)
HQ – Toronto
Website: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/
As of October 2021, Indigo operated 88 superstores under the banners Chapters and Indigo and 86 small format stores under the banners Coles and Indigospirit.
The company also operates www.indigo.ca (selling books, eBooks, toys, stationary, home décor, gourmet confections, electronics and more). For eBooks, customers are redirected to the Kobo site for purchase.
Indigo has opened one store in New Jersey, USA.
Independent retailers
Canadian Independent Booksellers Association
Website: https://www.cibabooks.ca/member-directory (118 members)
Contact: Douglas Minett -Executive Director
Email: doug.minett@cibabooks.ca
There are 275+ independent bookstores in Canada. In 2019, their sales totalled $79 million.
An interesting piece here, with map, shows how Canadian independent bookstores responded to the pandemic by increasing their online offering:
Penguin Random House Canada offers this bookstore listing on its website, encouraging readers to support local bookstores:
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/canadian-independent-bookstores-delivery
Mass market outlets
Costco: https://www.costco.ca/
102 stores across Canada
Walmart: https://www.walmart.ca/
408 stores including 343 supercentres and 65 discount stores in almost every province and territory except for Nunavut.
Online retailers
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/
Book Outlet: https://bookoutlet.ca/
BookPower https://www.bookpower.com/
Powered by the Canadian School Book Exchange (see next entry), buys and sells new and used textbooks and fiction/non-fiction for K-12 schools and college/university level.
Canadian School Book Exchange https://www.csbe.net/
Buys and sells learning resources for K-12 schools across Canada
Legible: https://legible.com/ (HQ in Canada – ebooks)
Rakuten Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/ (HQ in Canada—ebooks and audiobooks)
