The article claimed Reisman and Schwartz donate $3 million a year to the Foundation. According to a report in This Magazine, CAIA advocated the boycott of Chapters/Indigo stores due to principals Reisman and Schwartz forming the Heseg Foundation for soldiers serving in the Israeli army that have no family living in the state of Israel. In the summer of 2006, the company was targeted by social activists from NION and the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid. The company has also reportedly refused to stock several titles by David Icke, and firearms magazines. Indigo also did not distribute the issue of Western Standard which reprinted and discussed those same cartoons. In 2006, Indigo decided not to sell the June issue of Harper's Magazine, which reprinted the controversial cartoons of the Muslim prophet Muhammad that had led to violent demonstrations around the world. In 2001, Indigo removed Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf from the shelves. Criticism and controversies Product removal Indigo also offers a company matched RRSP program and yearly employee scholarships. This is due in part to a staff rewards program which includes benefits eligibility for both full-time and part-time employees. Indigo was listed in the 20 edition of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as well as Greater Toronto's Top 50 Employers (2007). Around 58% of Kobo was owned by Indigo at the time of the purchase. In November 2011, Japanese ecommerce company Rakuten purchased the company for US$315 million in cash. By August 2011, the Kobo e-reading platform had become the dominant player in Canada, with research firm Ipsos Reid estimating that it represented 36% of the Canadian market as of that date.
Kobo Inc., an e-reader platform and manufacturer, was founded and spun off of Indigo in November 2009. The documentary Writing on the Wall recounts the establishment of the foundation, while revealing the current conditions of school libraries and literacy in Canada. In 2007, the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation produced a documentary chronicling the issue of funding for books in Canadian elementary schools. The funding given to the schools is split across a 90% credit to spend at Indigo and 10% cash to be spent anywhere, as long as it contributes to advancement of literacy. 100% of customer donations have been granted to over 1800 schools since the Love of Reading Foundation's inception, with Indigo covering all of the operating costs of the foundation. The money is raised by Indigo itself, customers, staff, suppliers, and proceeds from Love of Reading fundraising products (i.e., gift card sleeves). Indigo commits $1.5 million annually to schools across Canada. In 2004, Indigo started the Indigo Love of Reading Foundation, a program which helps provide new books and learning materials to high-needs elementary schools, enhancing the literacy and self-esteem of students. In addition, the chain's Indigo Trusted Advisor Program offers book recommendations from experts in health, finance, and the environment, such as David Bach and David Suzuki. Indigo also manufactures its own brand of products, called IndigoLife. In recent years, Indigo has partnered with Apple and iUniverse publishing. Its banners currently include Indigo Books & Music, Chapters, and Coles, SmithBooks, IndigoSpirit, and Prospero-The Book Company (small format). The company sells books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, gifts, and toys through its website, and in its stores. In June 2014, Reisman said the company was headed into a new phase, selling a much higher percentage of non-book items. Indigo closed three high-profile stores in Toronto in the spring of 2014, including the "World’s Biggest Bookstore", which it acquired when it bought Chapters. Indigo also gained the ownership of the Coles chain of small-format bookstores, which was also owned by Chapters. With the aid of Onex Corporation, Indigo bought Chapters, their largest Canadian competitor, in 2001 and continues to operate many stores under the Chapters banner. The company's first big box bookstore, initially called "Indigo Books, Music & More", was opened in Burlington, Ontario on September 4, 1997. The company was founded in 1996 by CEO Heather Reisman, wife of Gerry Schwartz, majority owner and CEO of Onex Corporation.
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